Some artists pursue art as a career or work for financial success. Other artists do it for the satisfaction it brings, the enjoyment of creation, and the relaxation of doing something that you truly enjoy. Liz Kurincak is one of the latter.
Liz and her husband, Bernie, were living in Cleveland when they both decided they wanted to come back to the area. They moved to Nemacolin because, “It was a great place to raise our kids, with the pool and activities. It was safe.” Bernie worked in a few body shops before opening and operating his own shop for 30 years, while Liz raised their four children: Angela, Bernie Jr., Debra, and Brenda.
Liz enjoyed creative pursuits from early on. While her four children were young, she dabbled in macrame and sewing. She often created doll clothes and clothing for her children. As the children got older and more independent, Liz expressed a desire to go to school. She’d had always wanted to attend college, and so she did in the 1980s, earning a degree in culinary arts.
She also took cake decorating classes, and eventually began making them for family and friends when she realized, “I can make money with this, instead of giving it away!” Her husband created a commercial kitchen for her at the location of his auto body shop, and she expanded. She began catering larger events, and when her husband retired and closed his shop, they converted the entire building into a restaurant and handled smaller catering jobs as The Chuck Wagon.
When the Chuck Wagon closed as both Liz and Bernie retired, Liz took up painting. Her favorite things to paint are landscapes. Mountains, trees, old barns, historical doors, especially those in the northwest and southwest. She’s currently working on a seascape and learning how to do waves. “I really enjoy sitting and painting. I do it for the relaxation and enjoyment because now I can.”
While Liz has no formal training, she is always working on improving her skills: “It’s a lot of learning and challenging.” She studies other artists and watches videos of other artists, such as , on YouTube. “I started with Bob Ross and used his oil painting system. It really helped me with blending and putting things together. I later watched artist Chuck Black and Painting by Kevin. Videos of their techniques helped me improve.”
Her largest work is the piece that she created for her son of the place where he and his friends called “their place of rest” on their hunting trips, a scene of mountains and trees. The large 5-ft long by 30-in tall painting will be prominently displayed in her son’s living room once framed. The enormous size presented a new challenge for Liz, and she tackled the project with determination. She started with a smaller practice piece and then moved on to the final piece. “At first, I was intimidated, but once I started, it was better. I had some problems, but I got them figured out and enjoyed it overall.”
No matter what else she works on, painting landscapes and historical doors are her passions: “Every once in a while, I’ll try an animal, but I go back to the landscapes. I keep trying to get it, but it’s frustrating.”
But frustration for artists is something that Liz understands as part of the growing process and should never stop you from doing the things that you enjoy. “You have to give it a try,” she says. “It really is better to try and fail than to not try at all.”
Her husband Bernie adds, “Don’t be done learning, you’ve got to keep going.”