Elisa Palchetti

Painter · Children's Book Illustrator · Former Fashion Designer

Folsom, California  ·  [email protected]  ·  @living_beyondthesurface  ·  beyond-the-surface.pplx.app

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Profile

Multidisciplinary artist with over 25 years of professional experience across fine art, fashion design, and children's book illustration. Known for soul-capturing portraiture, fluid art, and wearable art that bridges gallery and garment. Fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English. Currently developing the Beyond the Surface brand — an integrated art, fashion, and children's publishing project rooted in emotional healing and identity.

Current Projects
Beyond the Surface — Founder & Creative Director

Folsom, California

  • Fine art collection of 20 original paintings exploring emotional identity, trauma, and healing
  • Art Couture collection: 20 one-of-a-kind upcycled garments hand-painted with UV and glow-in-the-dark reactive inks, each named after and inspired by a painting in the collection
  • Children's book series in development — 3 books written and illustrated by Elisa Palchetti: Book 1: What Glows Inside (Ages 3–5); Book 2: The Feelings We Carry (Ages 5–8); Book 3: Who I Am (Ages 8–10). The series guides children through emotional awareness, healing, and identity.
  • Art show concept in development: multisensory immersive exhibition combining fine art, fashion, UV room, sensory table, and children's reading corner
Children's Book Illustration
Children's Book Illustrator

"Mrs. Main and Chloe Marie"

by Karen Miner · Published on Amazon, 2025

Children's Book Illustrator

"Sparkle, The Magic Bunny"

by Maria Hughes — UK

Children's Book Illustrator

"Little Glory and the Wandemic"

by Kimberly Austin — Rancho Cordova, CA · Published May 2023

Children's Book Illustrator

"I Am Me and You are You" & "Family Comes First"

by Peter Moulton — Self-published, Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

Public Art
Public Mural — Elementary School

Dreams of Mayan Children Organization · Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

  • Large-scale colorful mural created for a local elementary school in collaboration with the Dreams of Mayan Children organization
  • Also conducted face painting workshops with the students
  • Featured in The Playa Times — "The Colors that Called to Elisa" (March 2017)
Placer Artists Tour

Placer County, California

  • Participated in the annual multi-day open studio tour, exhibiting original works to the public
Placer County Art Bidding Day

"Ocean's Cry"

  • Mixed-media work achieved the highest bid at the county art auction
Fine Art
Solo Exhibition

"Ámame o Mátame"

Puerto Aventuras, Mexico · Exhibition sold out

  • Inspired by the work of Frida Kahlo. Held just before Covid.
Commissioned Portrait Painter
  • Private commissions for families and individuals — specializes in expressive portraiture capturing emotional depth and personality
Fashion Design
Senior Fashion Designer — Head Designer

Arden B, Division of Wet Seal Inc. — Los Angeles, CA

  • Head designer for Arden B casual wear line
  • Responsible for full design, development, selection, and execution of seasonal collections
  • Made seasonal presentations including swatches, illustrations, runway photos
  • Researched market trends domestically and internationally
Senior Fashion Designer

GES Exportadores for Next UK — Porto, Portugal

  • Full product development from technical flat sketches to fit sample
  • Extensive commercial research across London, Paris, Milan, Florence and major European trade fairs
  • Sourcing and selection of fabrics and trims
Senior Fashion Designer

Omicron SRL — Florence, Italy

  • Designed, illustrated and selected for collections "Free Globe" men's wear and women's wear and "D.Belfort" prêt-à-porter woman
  • Managed 40% increase in annual turnover of sales during a 3-year period
Assistant Designer

Visual Art Studio — Florence, Italy

  • Assisted in the design for the collection of "Mariano Del Sere" woman
  • Illustrator of the collections · Research of fabrics and selection
Education

Diploma in Fashion Design

Accademia Italiana Moda e Design — Florence, Italy

1996

Diploma in Fashion Illustration

Istituto Professionale Caterina de'Medici — Florence, Italy

1994
Skills
Fine art painting & portraiture Fashion design & garment construction Children's book illustration Visual storytelling Digital art (Procreate) UV & glow-in-the-dark art techniques Wearable art & upcycling Brand identity & artist positioning Author collaboration
Languages

Italian — Native

Spanish — Fluent

English — Fluent