Annapolis artists opens West Ocean City gallery

By Lisa Capitelli

(July 21, 2006)  Some people in the area may not have heard of painter Liz Lind just yet, but they will soon find out about the watercolorist, now that she has opened a gallery featuring her artwork in West Ocean City.

Wit galleries already established in Annapolis and Edgewater, Md., Ocean City marks the third location for Liz Lind Editions, which just opened three weeks ago in the Decatur Business Center on Route 611.

Lind said she designed her new 1,200 square-foot showroom to be friendly because she doesn’t like “intimidating” galleries.

“I like people to feel like art is for everyone.  I think the important thing is how it makes you feel, and you shouldn’t feel intimidated by it or about buying it,” Lind says.  “You should buy what you like and what makes you feel good.  That’s why I have happy, cheerful colors.  I want people to feel like they can come in, look around and have a good experience.”   

Lind said she is happy to be here and likes the feeling of Ocean City.  She wanted to bring her artwork to the coastal area because it is her target market and because her husband, Gordon Harrington, was born and raised in Ocean City.  She would also eventually like to move here.

“I think it’s a good market for my work,” Lind said.  “In the Baltimore Washington area, they know my work and there is a demand for it in Annapolis.  I think people down Here don’t know about me yet, but hopefully will soon.  There have been people who’ve come in here and say, ‘oh, I know all about you, I’ve been to your gallery.’”

 From drawing in spiral notebooks when she was 5 years old to painting with watercolors today, Lind, 48, has been applying her talent for more than 40 years.  Lind thinks she got some of that talent from her mother’s side of the family.

“There were a lot of artists on my mother’s side and I think I got it from them,” Lind said.  “I have always painted or drawn.  I always had the feeling or the need to draw.  At 5, I wasn’t good, but I just had to do it.  It’s just the way of expressing yourself and that was my way, I guess.”

Lind said she would get jobs especially at frame shops, so she could be around art and learn how to frame and about the gallery business. 

Ironically, Lind’s parents didn’t want her to be an artist.  She said they wanted her to have a career where she would have a steady income.  However, in 1984, Lind and her mother opened the Annapolis gallery together.  Lind also opened the Edgewater gallery in 2003.

The galleries showcased the work of work of various artists, but because Lind’s own work own work sold so well, she opted to solely exhibit her artwork.  Nearly five years ago, Lind began creating prints of her originals to build an inventory.  Lind also offers custom framing at all three galleries.

Her two galleries have grown over the years and Lind just received the “Best Of” award in Annapolis for her artwork.  One of he local magazines takes a poll from the general public in different categories and Lind won for “Best Visual Artist.”

“It was a big honor because it was totally unsolicited,” Lind said.  “There was no roster that people could choose from.  The general public has to come up with you and vote.  I was really honored because it wasn’t the magazine that named me, it was the people in Annapolis.”

Lind’s original paintings are very hard to come by and she gets calls from eager buyers wanting to know when one will be available.  But, the Giclee (Iris Giclee is the highest quality print available) prints she has look exactly like the originals.

One-third of the originals she creates in a year are donated to charity to be auctioned off.  She makes prints of those originals to sell.  Some of her paintings have been auctioned for as much as 4,000, unframed.  The latest large, unframed framing painting she sold went for about the same.

If there is one thing that Lind wants people to know about her paintings is that it is good artwork to live around and to have in a home. 

“I have people that come in all the time and tell me how happy my paintings make them and their family, and that makes me feel great,” Lind said.  “My paintings are happy and have a lot of movement or action.  I like think that they are fresh.”

Lind said she enjoys painting water and anything related to it such as surfing, boats, waves, beach scenes and sea mammals.  She also enjoys painting flowers.  Lind is planning to paint a series of pieces depicting Ocean City.  “Ocean City will produce some really nice pieces because it is just so much more laid back,” she said.

In the Ocean City gallery, Lind also has gift items including note cards and coasters featuring her artwork.  She also has handmade purses, porcelain seashells, gift card, Elena Lara semiprecious stone jewelry, journals and Anne Taintor magnets.

The gallery is currently open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays, from about 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m..  For more information about ???