Art has always been a big part of my life. I was drawing the night before my SATs. I was drawing with my kids when they were little. I drew on my school reports, on napkins, on whatever was nearby….because that's just who I am. It's what I love to do.

 

A few years ago, I gave myself a challenge. Do art every day. And then, on a total dare to myself, I started sharing it on Facebook. A doodle a day. I was terrified. I didn't look at the comments for two whole weeks….scaredy cat! When I finally did look, I cried. People were so kind, so encouraging, and then the messages started: Can I buy a print? Do you do custom orders? Do you make notecards?Just like that, Liz Neighbors Studios was born.

 

I grew up on Long Island and I've been coming to Cape Cod since I was three years old. I still remember my first stay at the Anchor Inn in Hyannis….the pilgrimages my mom and I would make to the National Seashore. The way the light looks different there than it does anywhere else in the world. When my husband Griff and I were choosing where to put down roots, we made sure to land within driving distance of the Cape. And when our kids were old enough, we enrolled them in sailing camp on Buzzards Bay. The Cape has always been the backdrop of the best parts of my life, and it's the heart of so much of my art.  

 

Inspiration is everywhere….The boatyard in Cataumet on a cold March morning with Lacey, my walking buddy and studio sidekick. A walk past a farm stand on the way down to the beach. The hydrangeas. Always the hydrangeas. Old lobster buoys. Grand Central Station at Christmastime. The way NYC buzzes with energy in a way nowhere else quite does. A garden in full July bloom. A lighthouse on Nantucket catching the last bit of afternoon light. I try to capture a moment in time….something that feels true and warm and worth holding onto.I work mostly in Prismacolor markers (they're so portable, perfect for capturing a moment wherever I happen to be!) and watercolor paints. My style is colorful, whimsical, and coastal….though I'd say "joyful" is really the word that fits best. In these times, people want to see happy art. That's what I make. Happy art.

 

Custom orders are some of my very favorite things. Someone once asked me to paint her family home….when I delivered it, she wanted five more for her brothers and sisters. I was so blown away! She wanted to give them all originals, not prints. I was so happy just to do the one house, and then five more? I still think about that order. I love being a small part of those personal family moments. I love that art connects people that way.My work has been featured in Cape Cod Life Magazine, and that feature still makes me so happy and grateful every time I think about it. A lifetime of summers on the Cape and then to be recognized there….it felt very full circle. You can read that article below.

 

I ship original paintings, fine art prints, and notecards all over the country….to beach houses on the Cape, to Connecticut living rooms, to Florida condos, to college dorms, to nurseries in the Midwest. I have prints for Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Rhode Island, Long Island, Connecticut, Boston, NYC, Florida and beyond. College prints for Eagles, Hoyas, and more. Custom wedding crests. Custom baby monograms. Custom home portraits. Notecards for the person in your life who still loves a beautiful handwritten note (the best kind of person, obviously).

 

Every single order goes out with care….wrapped up like the little gift it is. I still do a doodle a day. I still share it. And I still get a little nervous every time….which I think means it still matters. To everyone who has ever bought a print, shared a post, sent a kind note, or just stopped to look….thank you. From the bottom of my heart. You gave me the gift of doing what I love every single day.I don't take that lightly for even one second.

 

Xo 🩷 Liz