Lizzy Dalton is a climber, an artist, and the designer of Access Fund’s 2024 member t-shirt featuring Zion National Park. We caught up with Lizzy to talk about her art, her process, what inspires her, and more.
Six Questions for Lizzy Dalton:
© Lizzy Dalton
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a fine artist and tattooer currently based in Portland, Oregon. I grew up in upstate New York, then lived in New York City for a few years before coming to the west coast in 2015 to be closer to nature and climbing! I’ve been making art my entire life, and started working as a professional artist around the same time I relocated to Portland. After several years supporting myself as a fine artist and illustrator, I fulfilled a longtime dream by taking up the art of tattooing. I now spend most of my working time creating tattoos in my signature artistic style.
How did you get started climbing? What does climbing mean to you today?
Back in college, I took a climbing course that was offered at my school’s indoor wall, and like most of us in the climbing world, I was immediately hooked. When I graduated and moved to New York City, I got a job at a climbing gym, and that’s when I started to meet more experienced climbers and get into climbing outside.
Climbing has been a part of my life for the last 14 years, and it’s had a huge influence on the person I am today. Learning to climb has given me so much confidence; it’s taught me to stay strong in scary or difficult situations, and it’s helped me see that I’m capable of so much more than I think I am. I’m also extremely grateful for the friendships and community that climbing has given me.
Many of your pieces focus on nature or outdoor places. How did you decide to pursue that path?
I’ve always been fascinated by the natural world. When I was a kid, I loved exploring the woods, scrambling on rocks, climbing trees, catching frogs and bugs. Even before I started climbing, I was making art inspired by the things I saw in nature: the textures, patterns, and shapes, the fascinating diversity of life.
When I started climbing, I noticed that it changed the way I viewed a lot of the natural world, and as a nature-loving artist, I was interested in exploring what it means to look at those landscapes through a climber’s lens. Climbers see a mountain or a cliff face and start searching for a line to the top, finding the pathways in vertical terrain. I wanted to capture that sense of movement, those lines that our eyes seek out and follow. We set our sights on the highest point of a landscape, and a particularly prominent or aesthetic summit can hold an inexplicable pull. I wanted to capture that focus on steep faces and high summits, and to capture some of that sense of being drawn into the landscape.
Who or what do you look to for inspiration?
Spending time outside is always inspiring for me. Big trips to new climbing areas are a great source of inspiration, but even just going for a nature walk at a local trail can be inspiring. I love taking pictures of the things I notice outside, whether they be striking landscapes, interesting rock formations, pretty flowers, cool mushrooms, or unique color palettes. When I’m looking for ideas of what to draw or paint, going back through these photos usually gives me plenty of ideas!
And of course, the work of other artists is always inspiring to me. My artistic inspirations are too many and too varied to name here, but I’m always paying attention to creative works I find both online and in person, and trying to learn something from every piece of art that I find myself drawn to.
What role does art play in climbing advocacy?
The places we climb are beautiful, magical spaces. Climbing is a powerful and transformative activity. I hope that my art can allow others to feel an emotional connection to the landscapes I depict, and remind them of how important these spaces are to so many people. I hope viewers will recall the way they feel when climbing and when visiting these places, and that will inspire them to preserve and protect access to these spaces.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I’d love to do more tattoos inspired by climbing areas for members of the climbing community! People can learn more about my tattoo work at lizzydaltontattoo.com.
Ready to wear some of Lizzy’s art?
Donate $50 or more today and we’ll send you our 2024 shirt featuring Zion National Park—designed exclusively for Access Fund members by Lizzy Dalton. Join the largest climbing advocacy movement in the country, get the shirt, and help protect and conserve America’s climbing.