the spotlight: elise corona

It was Elise Corona’s third birthday. In a restaurant with her family, she waited patiently for the food while watching her father closely at the table. He was sitting across from her, scribbling something on the back of the kid’s menu. Eventually, he turned the page over to his 3-year-old daughter to reveal a sketch of none other than Herbie the Racecar — an anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle which happened to be Corona’s favorite movie character at the time.

“When I saw that, I don’t know, something happened in my brain, in my heart where I just became inspired as a 3-year-old,” Corona recalled.

From then on, her love for bringing a blank canvas to life took root in her soul. The love of art followed her into her middle school years. It humbled and challenged her in tandem to refine her craft. Having seen exemplary examples of realism on social media, the work of others pushed her to keep trying her hand at it daily.

Having not taken an official art class until she came to Liberty University, much of her earlier years were based on pure instinct over principle and technique. After she began her course work in the studio art major, she grew in her abilities, making her work relatable and realistic to the audience.

“You can still create regardless of knowing these principles or not,” Corona said. “Like you don’t need to learn these principles, and then, you’re an artist. I feel like we all were born with that creative nature, just because we were created in God’s image, and He was a creator. So therefore, we automatically are given that as people made in His image.”

Similar to her earliest memories of art, her work is oftentimes inspired by the concept of nostalgia that she feels in her own life. These feelings not only can drive the content of the piece, but also infuse the final product with a good dose of reminiscent feelings that speak to the best moments of her upbringing. Out of all the types of subjects that she’s done, she finds herself coming back to figurative landscapes. Deeply inspired by the energetic nature of Claude Monet’s work, she tends to echo the very colorful and light style in her own creations.

“When I paint my beach paintings, I like to hone into capturing a good memory and just thinking about that,” Corona said. “I like to make paintings of my good memories. I like to hang them in my room…I suppose it could be a good reminder on the bad days that there are good days too.”

Her work not only represents a piece of herself, but it also points to the goodness of the Lord in her life. Throughout her time in undergrad, her main takeaway from the degree was bearing witness to the Lord’s provision and faithfulness. During her senior year, she finally pushed herself to go outside of her comfort zone and say ‘yes’ to the doors that were being opened. That is when she found that God did a greater work in her than she could ever do on her own.

Through her faith, Corona finds that her artwork has allowed for her to share her faith with others. Her journey has been a direct reflection of the Lord’s faithfulness in calling her to this career path.

“The painting is a reflection of the gospel,” Corona said. “It’s sharing Jesus Christ, but I’m not consciously…thinking about that and it’s not at the forefront of my mind. So therefore, I’m not suddenly timid to share the Gospel because I’m just talking about my artwork.”

Today, Corona sees the great value in how her artwork has been the vessel to lead her to draw closer to God. However, the journey here wasn’t always straightforward. Before coming to college, Corona was reluctant to attend school at Liberty due to their lack of an animation program. At the time, she was sure that this was what she wanted to pursue. However, God had other plans.

At first, she had no idea why she felt drawn to Liberty. But something within her had peace about it, so she continued to move forward with it. Throughout this journey, she learned about full reliance on the Lord and trusting that He knows best when it comes to her passions and future.

Through her obedience, she learned about the importance of saying ‘yes’ to what doors the Lord opens, no matter how much they stretch her abilities. Lo and behold, Corona unexpectedly fell in love with painting through her major.

“When I know what I need to do just seems out of my specialty, I’ll say ‘God, I’m going to do what I can, but I’m going to need you to do what I can’t’,” Corona said. “And He’s answered that every time. So if you just invite Him into your creative space, He can take care of the rest.”

During her senior year, she was approached by her professor Todd Smith to fulfill an art project during her senior year for the Office of Spiritual Development. For the task, she got to try her hand at live painting two pieces on stage that reflected that night’s sermon message at Campus Community. 

Initially, Corona found this offer to be out of her element. But, remembering a promise she made to a friend to start saying ‘yes’ during her final semester of undergrad, she agreed.

As a result, she bore witness to what unexpected opportunities the Lord set before her. Following this, she also had an encounter with someone in the hallway that was looking for an illustrator for their children’s book.

“That was another thing that the Lord had dropped into my lap,” Corona remembered. “Just so many opportunities have come from just that very first yes to the onstage painting. Which is crazy how God can use even just one ‘yes’, one act of obedience.”

Now, Corona is embarking on her first graphic novel, pairing words with visuals to tell meaningful stories. Instead of the audience asking her questions about her work, the book has given her the opportunity to ask questions to the audience: pushing the reader to examine themselves and think deeply.

“I think that any field…maybe even especially the arts, if this is something the Lord has called someone to, He will provide,” Corona said. “I can say time and time again, that’s what’s happened in my life. He’s just said ‘take this path’... and He’s provided different opportunities that I didn’t even see coming.”

Today, Corona is in her second year in the master’s program, serving in her role as a Graduate Student Assistant (GSA), pouring into the lives and work of younger artists. She sees her work today as a reminder that when we are faithful to steward today well, God will continue to bless our tomorrows.