In June, Isthmus art director Tommy Washbush was browsing the wares at the Big Gay Market at the Alliant Energy Center when a print of a cat caught his eye. He purchased the print and later found the artist, Elizabeth Higgins, on Instagram where he asked if she would be interested in illustrating a cover for us. She was.

Tommy sent Elizabeth a few ideas that had been on the back burner. She immediately gravitated toward the backyard movie idea, something she has a personal connection with — she and her husband host backyard movie nights a few times a year.

Originally we had this illustration slated for August, but decided to change direction due to the mid-July fatal police shooting of Corey Ruiz. The scene just didn’t match the mood of the city at the time. Pushing it to October, Elizabeth updated the clothing, trees, movie and overall color palette for the spooky season.

Elizabeth, who lives in La Crosse, has a master’s degree in geography and the environment but is now a full-time artist. A linocut printmaker “first and foremost,” she has taken up digital art in the last year. “I am inspired by nature, nerdy stuff, and politics,” she says.

Her cozy backyard movie night scene nods to Halloween with a scene from Beetlejuice, a favorite movie. She also considered scenes from Sinners, Poltergeist, Scream, The Exorcist, Midsommar and The Shining.

You can see more of her work at www.ehiggins.art or @elizabethhigginsarts on Instagram.