The museum was an interesting complex of buildings which the artist, Ásmundur Sveinsson, had designed, built, lived and worked in. Regardless of how distant a relative he may be, I have to mention him here as he definitely had a considerable impact on my starting to paint again and is directly responsible for my sculpting.

My parents brought me to the USA at the age of 2. I was always drawing and painting, even in grade school. In 1961 I received a scholarship to the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio. After one year I got married. My education halted and my career began. Six years later I was a single parent supporting a child. I had a good job as an illustrator, but the work was more technical than creative. As the years rolled by I also worked as a photographer and model maker, but never had physical or creative energy left over for my painting.

In 1979 I married Robert Hurley, who encouraged me to start painting again, but until that 1982 trip to Iceland, I never did. Discovering that Ásmundur was related to me seemed to spark something inside me. So did learning that Icelanders have a great deal of appreciation for their artists and perhaps I had been underestimating the worth of my own talent... after all, if HE could do it, why couldn't I?

For the next 15 years I painted and sculpted and studied with various teachers, all between normal household duties and being a wife and mother. About a year after my mother's death I began to study with Dennis Blalock, whom I credit with teaching me classic techniques of the old masters and encouraging me to paint a variety of subjects - still-lifes, landscapes, portraits and fantasy. In addition he has taught me the value of staying focused, paying attention, and trusting myself.

Currently, I seem to be finding more time for my painting, especially since my last trip to Iceland in August, 1996. I made this trip to Iceland just to paint it. I came home with nine paintings I did there and 18 rolls of film to paint from here in my Maryland studio. It seems that I just can't stop painting Iceland scenes or the images of elves and trolls that the landscapes have conjured up in my mind.

I want to thank you for having had enough interest to read this far and for visiting my web-gallery today. By the way, my legal American name is Elizabeth Stacy-Hurley. However, I discovered I had been spelling it wrong for all these years. I like the Icelandic spelling I found on my birth certificate better. That's why I now sign my work... Elísabet.

Where to see my work - Upcoming Shows

• Sept. 2000, Washington County Arts Council Gallery, Hagerstown, MD
  Show entitled "The Seventh Sense"