About
Elizabeth Zentzis is an American painter working in oil and soft pastel. Her work explores illumination and the existential nature of place, reflecting the complex emotions, energy, and stories that accumulate through time. Qualities of curiosity, connection, and the ways we experience life together are woven through her compositions and color decisions. Her paintings invite reflection and refuge, offering visual responses to a sometimes chaotic and difficult world.
Zentzis studied fine arts, graphic design, photography, and science, and has continued exploring diverse subjects throughout her life. She translates observation and experience into visual language, often using photography as a form of note-taking and as a scaffold for further exploration through painting. Through close attention to the intersecting qualities of a moment, her work often focuses on unexpected forms of intimacy within ordinary scenes. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon.
Selected CV
Selected Exhibitions
2024 — Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Portland, Oregon. ORA Northwest Jewish Artists A to Z Exhibit.
2023 — Oregon Society of Artists, Portland, Oregon. Portland Rose Festival Art Show.
2011 — Elizabeth Lofts, Pearl District, Portland, Oregon. Crisis, Color, and Synthesis solo exhibition.
Professional Art Experience
Freelance graphic arts and illustration — 1987-2012
Collaborations and Charity
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Man & Woman of the Year event — 201
Fine Art and Design Education
University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Art & Architecture. Communication design, photography, fine arts.
Portland State University. Art & design.
Mt. Hood Community College. Graphic design, drawing.
Other Education
University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Liberal Arts. Bachelor of Arts, Psychology. College Honors, Departmental Distinction.
Oregon Health & Science University–Oregon Institute of Technology. Clinical Laboratory Science, Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude.
Oregon Health & Science University, Clinical Informatics. Graduate certificate.
Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon. Undergraduate study.