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Schwankl’s bison shows the blue sky with a vibrant sun.
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Elizabeth Schwankl grew up in Barnesville MN with two brothers and two sisters. She was crowned "Miss Barnesville" her senior year of high school. That same year her mother died of cancer, which was preceded two years earlier by her father's death, also of cancer. She lived in the family home with her two older brothers and her younger sister while commuting to Moorhead for college. She graduated with an associate degree in Fashion Merchandising and moved to Fargo the following year, meeting her husband, Bill, that same month. They have been married for over 20 years and have two sons, Tyler (19) and Adam (17). Before starting her career as a visual artist, she worked in retail, and was a dispensing optician for a number of years. She also has worked as a model and actress in commercials for the past 30 years. She represented North Dakota in the "Mrs. USA Pageant" in 1991. She is currently serving on the Core Building Committee for the building of a new church for the Sts. Anne and Joachim Parish.
Her move to a career in art began as a means to stay home with her young boys in 1989. She has taken workshops from nationally known artists such as John Salminen, Judi Betts, Carl Dalio, Michael Schlicting, and Cheng Khee Chee, among others. She has participated in many group and solo shows including the Red River Watercolor Society National Juried Exhibition, earning her signature status in the RRWS. She is a past Exhibition Director of the RRWS National Juried Exhibition as well as a past board member of the RRWS. She has also served as a juror for the Fargo Street Fair and the Trollwood Christmas Bazaar. She is a member of the Lake Agassiz Arts Council, FM Visual Artists and the ND Art Gallery Association. She was awarded a grant from the NDCA in folk arts to study under master iconographer Deborah Korluka in Stillwater, MN Her paintings hang in homes and offices from coast to coast with the largest collection owned by the Ramada Plaza Suites in Fargo with a total of 33 originals and 473 prints displayed in the public spaces and the suites of the award winning hotel. Schwankl paints in multi-mediums and styles. Approximately 90% of the art she creates is custom made specifically for her clients.
Artist Statement:
I chose to be a part of the Herd About the Prairie Project because the thought of painting a life size bison was very intriguing and I wanted to be a part of this huge community project sponsored by the Lake Agassiz Arts Council. I submitted five designs with my application and was given my own choice between two of the designs by the sponsor. Bi-Sun is a play on the word bison and was behind the idea of painting two suns, one on each side. It is also two suns as there is the painting one sees during the daylight hours and the painting in glow-in-the-dark paints and treated tape that identify the suns in the night-time hours. I can picture the bison on a lake lot where it will glow in the dark while the owners and their friends sit by the roaring campfire on the beach. I can also imagine it on corporate grounds, indoors or out, of a company with a title tied to the sun theme. There is a lot of excitement over the project when I speak to people about it and they all want to know when they will be in public and where and when the bison will be auctioned off. I have been honored and pleased to be a part of this project. |
