Meet Elizabeth Grace: Illustrator & Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Grace and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risks are always welcome in my world. Im a firm believer that life starts once you step outside of your comfort zone. Whats funny is that I use to hear that quote and pay it no attention, at that time I was living in fear and I let that fear box me in. As a result I limited the amount of risks I would take and thats no way to live. It wasn’t until later that I realized that my life was passing me by. Once God lovingly showed me that some risks can be a good, my whole perspective on life changed. Fear is just your reaction to a situation and when its channeled properly, it can fuel you to take risks that could leave you with some great lasting memories. Starting my business Grace by Elizabeth all started with me taking a life changing risk to step out and trust God and since then I’ve been enjoying the ride.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started Grace by Elizabeth back in 2009 while in college at The Art Institute of Atlanta. At the time I only did small illustrations and logos. Over the years I started to branch out and now I create bold vibrant paintings/mixed media illustrations and designs of all sizes. From digital & fine art to t-shirt designs and murals, I aim to make Grace by Elizabeth a one stop shop for your art needs. Thats honestly the thing that sets Grace by Elizabeth apart from other illustration companies, I am completely dedicated to meeting my clients needs in a timely manner. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned along the way is to pace myself. I had all these grand ideas about what I wanted my career to be like but I had to slow down and learn to walk before I could run. I learned that taking calculated risks that could catapult me toward my goals is the most efficient way to grow my company. While taking risks and getting out of my comfort zone was important, I also learned that saying no is ok as well. Every job offer isn’t for me, sometimes its for someone around me. Thats around the time that I started to outsource to other artists on top of teaching other creatives what I know. I wanted to let people know that its more than possible to be successful living what the world might call a unconventional lifestyle. You don’t have to be a ‘starving artist’. The key is to find out what you’re passionate about and turn your passion into a demand so that you can profit while enjoying what you do. Creating different types of art, connecting with fellow artists and forming long lasting professional and personal relationships is a big part of the Grace by Elizabeth brand.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is a fun question! For a first timer in my amazing city, i’d start off with the hot spots. For example, The Georgia Aquarium but after that we could head down to The Chattahoochee Food Works which has over 30 food vendors in one location. Walking through there and sampling different places would be fun. I’d also suggest we went to Piedmont park or to Centennial Olympic Park for a picnic and maybe head around the corner to The World of Coca Cola. Later in the evening we could head to SkyView, the giant ferris wheel with gondolas. Its beautiful there at night because the wheel is lit up with bright lights. The next day we could head to Fernbank Museum & The Planetarium and after to Skyline Park, the amusement center. Another cool place to go is The Atlanta Botanical Garden and keeping with the garden theme we could head down to to The Garden Room for drinks and later for live music we could head to Apache Cafe. Atlanta has so many great places, I could go on and on but I would suggest before leaving Atlanta that you head a little further south to a small place called Annie Laura’s, its a amazing soul food spot! and for dessert you could head to Triton Yards food truck park and grab some sweets. They are all black owned food trucks and one of my favorites is Yummy Funnel Cakes. To finish the trip off with a bank i’d suggest iFly which is indoor skydiving. The best thing about Atlanta is that there is something for everyone, its a perfect place to visit. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are a lot of people who have helped me along the way in small and big ways. Mainly my family, especially my mom who always has my back. My small group of friends has been helpful as well, especially my best friend but God is the one who deserves the real recognition in my story. He gave me my awesome support system, He gave me the talent that I have and He’s the one who told me to start Grace by Elizabeth. I know a lot of people say that but its true. I pray before every project so most of my inspiration and ideas come from Him. A lot of the time when I look at a blank canvas I can see the picture that I intend to paint and all I have to do is paint over the vision of what I see, I know that its God who’s showing me what He wants me to paint or create.

Website: gracebyelizabeth.com

Instagram: @gracebyelizabeth