Artist Interview: Liz Crain

Liz Crain’s "Knitted Wool Hot Dog with Crocheted Porcelain Container,” on display in the Santa Cruz Art League’s Luck of the Draw exhibition October 29 -November 8.

This month, SCAL Volunteer Gavin Kennedy sat down with Liz Crain, a Santa Cruz–based artist whose creative journey has traveled through collage, mosaics, and ceramics before landing—at least for now—on painting.

“I do everything,” Liz laughs. “But right now, I’m focusing on painting.”

For Liz, creativity has always been part of life.

“I’ve always made things,” she says. “I made doll clothes for my dolls and Christmas ornaments out of toilet paper tubes. I just found things to work with—and I loved instructions. The word kit made me so happy.”

Her first formal art class came at UC Santa Barbara. “That’s when I realized I could actually look at something and recreate it,” she recalls. “It was wonderful—it excited me. My imagination felt real, and I could do something with it.”

Like many artists, Liz knows what it’s like to feel stuck—but she’s learned to treat those moments with compassion. “I feel less blocked now than I ever have,” she says. “When I feel blocked, I just say, ‘I’m blocked,’ and I walk away. No drama.”

After a busy exhibition season earlier this year, Liz didn’t paint for months. Instead, she found herself crocheting—making 100 hats from her yarn stash. “They’re not for sale,” she explains. “They’re meant to give warmth, beauty, and comfort to someone—and then I ask that person to do the same for someone else. So that’s what I do when I’m blocked—I go do something that feels comfortable, and then I come back.”

“Santa Cruz is an artist town,” Liz says. “There’s no standard, and there’s a lot of support for all kinds of art. If you want to aim lights out at the bay and call it a performance—great, I’m there.”

Growing up in Saratoga, Liz always saw Santa Cruz as her playground. “It was hard for me to move here and not just treat it that way,” she admits. “I had kids to raise. I had to leave behind the girl who came here to party and go to nude beaches!”

Over the years, Liz built strong roots in the local art community—teaching ceramics at Cabrillo College, serving on the Open Studios committee, and connecting with other creatives. “I belong to Santa Cruz in that way,” she says. “It’s not just the place—it’s the people.”

Liz’s studio feels like both a workspace and a sanctuary.

“This space has grown since I moved into the house—from just one brown desk into a real workspace,” she says. “There isn’t anything in here that isn’t related to making art. This is where my support system is—it’s a reminder of what’s mine.”

Ask Liz about her favorite artwork, and her answer is always the same: the last one she made. “It’s an assignment for a landscape class,” she says. “It’s based on a photo I took on the Lost Coast back in ’87. At first I thought it was about the road, but then I realized it was really about the fog—the atmosphere.”

That shift in perspective changed everything. “I walked away for the night, came back, and saw it differently,” she says. “I love that—it’s something I haven’t really done before. The fog rocks out.”

Recently, Liz has been diving deep into American Tonalism, a 19th-century art movement focused on mood, atmosphere, and subtle color. “I found this huge book on tonalists,” she says. “At the end, there was one living artist featured—Richard Mayhew—and it turns out he lived right across the freeway from me! He painted from memory—brilliantly tonalist, but not gray or old-looking.”

That discovery inspired Liz’s next chapter. “I want to bring that influence into my new work,” she says. “I also have a show coming up at Mr. Toots Coffeehouse in May. I’m not sure yet if it’ll have a theme or just a range of pieces—but I’m excited. It’s like—oh, okay, now we’re cooking.”

Follow Liz Crain’s work and upcoming shows by keeping an eye on the Santa Cruz art scene—you’ll know her by the warmth, wit, and quiet glow that fill both her paintings and her stories.

Find more of her work and information at https://www.lizcrainceramics.com/

Interview by Gavin Kennedy