ELISE ANN COCHRAN is a painter whose work centers on the quiet power of light and its ability to reveal beauty in the ordinary.

Working primarily in watercolor, gouache, and oil, she paints both plein air landscapes and candid, observational portraits. A common theme in her work is a careful attention to how light shapes form, atmosphere, and mood.

Elise’s practice is grounded in direct observation. Whether painting people or places, she is drawn to moments where light transforms her subjects—a simple smile, a figure at rest, or an evocative landscape—into something luminous and quietly compelling. .

She believes beauty plays an essential role in human flourishing and sees painting as a means of calling attention to that which might go unnoticed. Her work is informed by a sense of wonder and hope, reflecting her belief that all things will be made beautiful in time. 

Originally from the rural farmlands of Pennsylvania, Elise studied classical realism with Neilson Carlin and color theory with Jeffrey Morton before working in France, Greece, and Italy.