Elisabeth Howlett is an artist, an oil painter, working from her studio in Adelaide, South Australia. She makes expressive floral portraits of native Australian flora with vivid, deliberate brushstrokes of thickened (impasto) oil.

Elisabeth is known for her expressive portraits of flowering Australian flora. She makes her highly textural paintings using a filbert shaped paintbrush, painting onto canvas or linen. She applies generous quantities of thickened oil paint to describe her native flora. In doing so, Elisabeth emphasises the impression of brushstrokes onto her chosen surface, leaving an array of texture, movement and light on the canvas.

Elisabeth wishes to capture natives in bold and unexpected ways, offering a different approach to ‘painting flowers’ to her collectors. She is enamoured of our Australian native flora, their ancient shapes and crazy leaves. She enjoys foraging wildflowers and formulating them into 'sculptural style' arrangements in vases - photographing, drawing, underpainting, and finally, painting them in oil.

Trained in law, Elisabeth spent the majority of her legal career on matters impacting the natural environment. For some 12 years, whilst working full time, she worked on art in her spare time. Shifting to art as her chosen career 8 years ago, Elisabeth continues to foster an appreciation for native flora in her work.

Above all, Elisabeth paints to bring joy to people. The joy that the beauty of the natural world brings, in all its seasons, in all its processes, whether in full bloom, or wilting and ready to fall.

Elisabeth has held 2 solo exhibitions during her 8 years of practice, and multiple group exhibitions, both locally and interstate. In February 2020, Elisabeth worked as Artist in Residence at Burnside council. She conducts online art classes for adults.