Watercolor Gallery                 Contact Artist  

Elizabeth Greaf was originally taught to paint with watercolor by Sharon Russell at the deYoung Museum Art School in the mid 1980's.  Prior to that, she primarily worked in oil and acrylic.  Since that time Elizabeth has continued to paint in transparent watercolor for the majority of her artwork.  Elizabeth is now sought after for both her artwork and as a teacher of this transparent medium of paint. 

Elizabeth Greaf
Watercolor Painting Examples    Click on Images to enlarge view

June Grist Mill Setauket, NY 16" X 12"	Beacon Above Boulders Montauk, NY	Storm Surf Southampton, NY  22"  X 15" ○	Vineyard Summer Vivaldi Summer Shinn Vineyards 12" X 16"
St. Marks Garden by the Sea 30" X 22"○ Award Winning	Distant Storm Southampton Summer ○	Forest Retreat 20" X 14.5"	Long Island Duck 13" X 11"

View from Seaside Path 22" X 15"○	Frozen Pond Stony Brook 16.5" X 20"  ○	Summer Afternoon Setauket 15" X 22" ○	Snow Near Cordwood Beach 30" X 22" Award Winning
Sea View --- Amagansett 12" X 16"	Island Garden Appledore 12" X 16"	Red Flag South Hampton Beach 12" X 36" ○
Autumn Passage 13.75 X 19" ○	Summer's Farewell 7.75" X 8.75"  ○	Afternoon in the Sun Amagansett 14" X 20.5"	Summer Mill East Hampton ○
Shoals Lighthouse 16" X 12"	Charles Street Reflections Boston, MA 11" X 7.75"	Giverney Spring Buds 22" X 30"	Beyond Babbs Rock 16" X 12" Now Showing at Pederson Gallery Old Lyme, CT
Newport Inlet 6.25" X 8.5"	Sunset Reflection Appledore Island, ME 6.25" X 8.5"	Tug in Foggy Harbor Port Jefferson 8.25" X 6.25"	Walk Into the Forest Stony Brook, NY 7.5" X 8.5"

Beach Walk --- Crane's Neck Old Field 15" X 20"○	Khuku Sugar Mill Oahu, HI 19" X 27"	Santoria deChimayo 20" X 16.5"

Brown Cottage in the Snow Stony Brook ○	Hidden Canal ○ Prague 15" X 20"	Danube Lights Budapest 15" X 22"	Sun Ballet White and Gold San Anselmo, CA 20" X 13.5"

Mill with January Snow Stony Brook 22" X 16" ○ Sold	Block Island Walk 14" X 22"	East Farm Meadow ○ Sold

* Art Image Size            ○ Painting is sold                                                           Page last updated 11/19/2008

Painting with watercolor:  There are many types of artists paints that are water soluble, such as acrylic, gouache, tempera, and transparent watercolor.  Transparent watercolor (usually referred to simply at watercolor) has the principles of light moving through the paint thus intermingling any color layered below the top with ones above.  The clarity of the colors in watercolor is due to the fact that various intensities of paint color are achieved by the ratio of paint to water rather than modifying the pure color with white or black paint. The most challenging aspect of watercolor comes from the fact that you cannot paint a light color over a dark one without the dark showing through.  Therefore you have to plan for the light areas from the beginning and keep them from receiving darker paint or paint that would influence the top layers in a manner that you do not desire.  It is not recommended that white paint ever be used in watercolor because it reflects light differently from the normal watercolor paint and distracts from the artwork, the white of the paper is therefore normally used as white in the paintings.

Durability of Watercolor Paintings:  Watercolor paintings are usually created on watercolor paper. This paper comes in various weights and surface textures.  As with any art medium, including oil, the longevity of the finished work depends on three things:  the light fastness of the paints used, the quality of the support (paper or canvas), and the environment in which the artwork is maintained. 

Any artist should choose paints that have been tested to assure a very low probability of fading.  However, any painting, regardless of the medium, will fade overtime if exposed to too much light.  In the case of any artwork on paper both the paper used for the painting and any papers, glues, tapes, etc. in the framing process should be acid free or pH neutral to avoid acid damage to the artwork.  Works of art should also be protected from excess heat, humidity, cold, and smoke.

Water soluble paints were used for artwork in caves many millennia ago.  Transparent watercolors exist that were created when artists were first experimenting with oil as a medium. 

All content of this website is under the copy write  of C. Elizabeth Wells Greaf  2004.

No use of this material is to be made other as information regarding the artwork and teaching of Ms. Greaf
and as reference to find information regarding linked Sites and Events.

Absolutely no reproduction of any of the artwork is to be made without specific permission of the artist,
C. Elizabeth Wells Greaf.