Elisa Nadzieja, a native of New York City, studied fine arts at the Philadelphia College of Art (University of the Arts) before returning to NYC to continue her education at Hunter College, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in clinical laboratory sciences. She entered the medical field as a clinical microbiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York while simultaneously pursuing her artistic journey. Her biomorphic abstractions have been exhibited in galleries nationwide since 1997. Elisa currently resides in Saint Augustine, Florida, where she maintains her studio and continues her artistic endeavors.

The artist works primarily with watercolor using its fluidity to create spontaneous and unexpected results. She allows the improvised results of the initial painting process to guide the development of the final image. In her current work, she uses watercolor and ink to create images that layer color and line in free-flowing outlines.