Coming from an artistic family, Elise has had a long involvement in the arts. With a strong background in portraiture and landscape painting she moved naturally into illustration and has worked as a highly respected freelance illustrator for 15 years. 2010 will see her 55th book published. As a champion of young and emerging artists, Elise is frequently invited to lecture and demonstrate in many universities and schools across Australia.

Elise's best known book to date is the picture book The Night Garden (ABC Books, 2007) which she wrote and illustrated. This book was named a Notable Book and received a coveted short listing in the 2008 CBCA Book of the Year Awards. She is the author of several other books and is currently working on an ambitious graphic novel. Elise has been an award-winning exhibitor in many art shows across Victoria, coming second in the 2003 $40,000 Alice Bale Travelling Scholarship. Lately, she has received critical acclaim for her illustrations across a trilogy of novels (The Moorehawke chronicles by Celine Kiernan) completed in her trademark pen style.

"I seem to be fascinated by the boundaries between humans and animals at the moment, and what happens when we blur them. In this current exhibition I have created many characters that are all the richer for their animal natures and their human associations. Combined with the rich style of the 30s-50s I have felt like I am telling whole stories in an instant, drawing on elements of the period to help me. Relating to the same area, but explored in a very different way is my textless (graphic) novel entitled The Protector to be released by Omnibus Books in early 2011. This book delves deeper into our interactions with animals, with a much darker aspect."

2009-2010 Committee of Management of the Australian Society of Authors (ASA).
2004-2010 Co-organiser of picture book retreats for the Society of Book Illustrators (SOBI).

Since 2004 Elise has had an ongoing part in the conception, design and running of the "The Style File" (www.thestylefile.com) - a website which showcases Australian artistic talent to publishers worldwide. The style file has grown in size and now features the work of over 200 illustrators and provides a important channel between publishers and illustrators.

2010 Judging panel of the Koko Black creative drawing prize.
2010 Presenting at the Bendigo Children's Literature Conference (run by La Trobe University) on anthropomorphism in art.

Elise's Bachelor of Arts honours thesis examined artwork created during the late Palaeolithic era (a period spanning roughly from 60,000 years ago to the dawn of modern humans at about 10,000 B.C.). Ongoing: An occasional lecturer at RMIT in the area of children's literature, runs a short course through RMIT on publishing books for children and this year she will complete a professional diploma in writing and editing.