Hi, I’m Libby, the artist behind Element Inks.

I work primarily with watercolour, creating soft, uplifting artworks, handwritten calligraphy and greeting cards designed to bring a little comfort, magic, and meaning into your everyday moments.

I love the quiet process of bringing ideas to life and telling stories through colour, ink, and paper. Creating something personal and heartfelt for someone else, especially through commissions, is one of the most fulfilling parts of what I do. There’s something beautiful about turning someone’s vision and story into something they can hold.

Throughout my life, my art has always been a place I can return to. It has a gentle way of connecting me to others, and back to myself.

When I’m not painting, you’ll probably find me dancing, travelling, or gathering inspiration from nature, music, and small everyday moments. Creativity moves through my life in many forms, and I try to follow it intuitively wherever it leads.

I hope what I create can feel like a small companion in your own chapter.

Thank you for being here!

With love,

Libby

The girl who dreamed…

I grew up very creative and also curious about the world. I would always be crafting and creating, whether it was scrapbooking, room decor, sewing or drawing. As I continued to create, I began to dream of being an artist one day.

When I was little, I would set up pretend market stalls in my bedroom, selling my crafts and creations, inviting my parents to come along. I’d also walk around the house with a clipboard, taking ‘commission orders’ from my parents for 5-10 cents a piece and ‘deliver’ the finished drawings to them later that day. Even then, I wasn’t just making art, I was imagining what it would be like to share it with the world and bring someone else’s ideas to life.

I continued to let my creativity lead and blossom as a grew up.

The Mandala on the wall…

Element Inks began in 2017, when I was 13 years old, on a family holiday in Port Fairy.

I remember seeing a mandala painted on the side wall of the holiday house we were staying in. Something about it captivated me and I remember thinking, I want to try drawing one.

So I did.

I spent a lot of that holiday learning to draw mandalas and being inspired by nature and its beautiful shapes. The idea formed ‘what if I could actually sell mandalas inspired by nature and the elements?’ I began brainstorming business names straight away. At the time, I was drawing with fine line ink pens, and I wanted a name that reflected both my love for nature and the way I was creating. That’s how Element Inks was born. I was so excited to get home and launch my business by opening an Etsy shop, which I did! I left that holiday with a whole vision that has since evolved a lot, and is still evolving to this day!

The evolution…

I did my first real market when I was 15. I remember feeling slightly excited but very scared. I loved creating, but I was terrified of being seen in my creativity. I thought the world would end if anyone I knew saw my art, or me trying to create a business from it. I kept my art world quiet from people in my life, hiding that part of myself and protecting it carefully for many years. I never fully embraced my art because of this, and worked on it very on and off over the coming years, I could only get so far by keeping it a secret. If I wanted this to work, I would have to face my fears.

The turning point…

In recent years, I’ve returned to markets and decided to go all in on my art and to stop shrinking around my creativity. If I wanted to live my dream life, I had to allow myself to be seen by the world as an artist. That has meant getting way out of my comfort zone. It has been super scary, and I constantly have moments where I feel exposed or think ‘what am I doing’, but each time I show up, it feels more aligned, more honest, more like the girl who couldn’t wait to get home from Port Fairy and begin.

Element Inks has grown and evolved over the years, and in many ways, so have I. It has grown up with me, and has challenged me to become braver and more vulnerable. It feels like this is still just the beginning, so I can’t wait to see where it takes me next!

More about the Artist…

‘Libby is a Mornington Peninsula–based watercolour artist who paints to celebrate stories, capture emotions and help bring people home to feelings of connection and softness. Her work invites viewers to remember the beauty and quiet magic within their own lives. Libby has a love for storytelling through the fluidity of watercolour and a deep desire to create work that awakens something in the viewer, invites reflection, resonates with the heart and feels like the warm hug you’ve been needing.

Her creative world has been a constant mirror for her throughout her life and a soft landing place to return to during times of change or uncertainty. Her art has always been a sacred tool to help channel and translate her soul into something tangible, find purpose and reflect on her inner world. Libby sees creativity as a devotional practice and a space for healing, expression and self discovery.

Her art is her unique way of offering more beauty, connection, joy and magic back into herself and the world.’