Although Elisabeth Waldstein learned to love art at an early age through a classical upbringing, frequent visits to the Art History Museum in Vienna, as well as traveling to see art all over Europe and the USA, she only started to paint herself while at university.

Midway through her studies in music, Waldstein learned she had a heart tumor. A year on bed rest and a decline in strength proved she would probably never be physically well enough to pursue a career as a singer. She spent her time learning to live with chronic illness by exploring different creative mediums, such as jewelry design, writing and painting, as a way to escape the pain. What began as studies of her favorite impressionist artists bloomed into an artistic talent completely its own.

Waldstein’s early paintings are evocative of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists she so loves; they are filled with brilliant color, and bold yet whimsical strokes that recall the imagery and music-like movement of these schools. She particularly enjoyed impasto painting with the palette knife technique with both oils and acrylics. Her early work exhibited internationally in England, Austria, and the United States.

Waldstein spent a year at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, mastering technique and developing her style yet further. She then lived in Florence for two further years, spending time painting en plein air in the beautiful city.

The experience of Covid-19 provided a fruitful turn to watercolor—a medium perfect for painting on-the-go en plein air. Due to Waldstein’s day job as a medical coder and revenue cycle specialist, she traveled to various different hospitals and clinics during the pandemic. Because of the travel, she needed a new medium to accommodate not spending time in the studio. Watercolors turned out to be the answer. Now, Waldstein enjoys painting in watercolor as much as with her oils, and is able to take her studio with her, wherever she goes.