For Elizabeth Romhild her art, which was self taught quickly became a part of who she is. Today she might not be making art in the same form as she used to, but she is still creating and continues to be inspired by her surroundings.
The door opens and the colors almost consume you, as you step into the atelier of Elizabeth Romhild. Her work is often complemented for its vivid colors, and as her own work decorate almost every inch of the walls in the room I just stepped into, I can only agree. It is breathtaking. Elizabeth Romhild herself emerges from the other end of the room, immediately offering coffee and crackers as we settle down to talk about her life.
Elizabeth recently had a knee operation, so there has been a bit silent in the atelier recently she explains.
“Usually there is a bit more messy in here, you know with all my projects,” she says while pointing at a semi-clean desk.
Elizabeth Romhild isn’t a formally educated artist, however at the age of 26 she started to paint portraits. Since then she has worked almost every day as an artist. Working while having children. Exploring different media for her arts, and the ball is still rolling. Today Elizabeth is 64 years old, and she is not at all done with her craft.
Artistically born from the slums
Elizabeth Romhild is a recognized artist who has been part of exhibitions in multiple countries including Denmark, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. She is Danish-Armenian and grew up in Iran. She lived in many countries throughout her life, and has settled in Bangkok since 1988.
She explains the vivid colors in her paintings as a heritage from her Armenian roots, but also as result of the many colors in the countries she has lived in. Elizabeth was born in Denmark and has since then lived in Iran, England, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Indonesia, and Thailand.
She never went to art school. Instead she taught herself. Experiemnting when she found something inspirering. Creativity has always been a joy of hers, since she was a child, but she describes Indonesia as a tipping point:
“I was born as an artist when we lived in Indonesia. I started painting the slums and the characters I found there,” she says.
Elizabeth explains how the faces of the people she met in indonesia inspired her to start drawing. Trying to express the stories these faces told:
“Especially faces that were wrinkly, or when the person was missing a tooth, spoke to me. These characters were just so beautiful in their own way”.
Her art was very well received and she quickly became a name that people knew. Her portraits and slum-paintings in Indonesia earned her the nickname ‘The Slum Painter.
Never standing still
“Peter used to start a phone call by saying, are you sitting down? Then I knew okay we are moving,” Elizabeth says with a smile on her lip.
Elizabeth met her husband Peter in Iran, when he was stationed there for his previous job at ØK, a former Danish trading company. Since then he has not only been her love, but also her ticket for living in different countries all over the globe. Together they lived in New York, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. When she recieved a phone call from him in Indonesia the new country they would move to was Thailand.
Elizabeth was born as an artist in Indonesia, but paused, as she moved to Thailand. This was when she started to have children. They filled up a large portion of her life.
“However, I couldn’t completely stop making art. At this time I started drawing with colored pencils. They were easier to put down, when the children needed me,” She explains: At the same time the children also inspired me to be more bold and abstract in my painting style”.
This was Elizabeths everydaylife for about five years. But then, Elizabeth had a moment in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. A blue bowl with oranges. And with that sight she got busy.
The distinctive color on several paintings becomes apparent as Elizabeth Romhild describes the blue bowl with oranges that she saw in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which became the inspiration for multiple paintings.
“You can see it everywhere,” she says as she points to different paintings: “the blue color, and the shape of the orange. It has become my signature,”
Elizabeth talks with as much passion and energy as her art contains.
This was the beginning of a new era in Elizabeth’s profession as an artist. She became known for her exotic colors and the erotic shapes. Huge canvases filled with Picasso liked people in orgies of colors.
She shakes her head as she thinks of this time in her life:
“It is amazing how much I got done. I was working, taking care of the children when they came home, and at the same time we still went out socially quite often”.
She then states a quote which she already mentioned when we spoke on the phone: If you want something done, ask a busy person.
A future with many outcomes
Today the big canvas has become too big and demanding for Elizabeth to paint them, but it hasn’t slowed down her artistic desire.
First, she painted, then she designed for porcelain tableware, followed by creating art covers for speakers, her own jewelry designs, and mosaic designs for interiors. Many different outlets for the same art:
“It just got too hard for my body to paint these giant paintings,” Elizabeth explains: “Luckily there is also something very exciting about seeing how your art speaks on different ‘platforms’ so to say”.
Elizabeth Romhild can barely hold herself back when talking about her future projects indicating that there is plenty more art in the future.
“I used to say that I would like to die with my palet in my hand,” She says with a smile.
As with many other artists her art has become a part of who she is, so retirement doesn’t appeal to her as it does to others.
Many homes at once
With her childhood devided between Denmark and Iran, her young adulthood traveling around the globe and har Children growing up in Bangkok, Elizabeth Romhild has enjoyed many different cultures and everyday lives. It does mean that she has had a rather ‘unconventional’ relationship with her family. Or, it might be unconventional to some, but not to Elizabeth:
“I essentially did the same as my mom. She also moved away from her family with her husband, and so did I. Now so does my children,” she explains.
Of course she misses her children and her grandchildren, but she also likes that her children enjoy exploring new cultures.
Even though Elizabeth hasn’t lived in Denmark, she still refers to it as home. She quickly went abroad as a young adult, and so have her children. Denmark is one of the places where they often get together with their children who are living in Denmark and the United States.
She shares, that of course her husband and her have considered moving to Denmark many times. Also to be closer to their daughter who lives in Copenhagen, but they just can’t let go of Bangkok:
“For now we have the best of both worlds. We have a small cottage in Jutland in Denmark, and our lovely apartment in central Bangkok. So, as long as the health allows it they would like to keep it this way,” she says with a smile as she looks around her atelier with a proud look in her eyes.
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