Elaine Turnbull was born in Sunderland. She gained a BA (Hons) in Printed Textile Design from Edinburgh College of Art in 1985 and subsequently studied at Bath Spa University, obtaining a PGCE in Art & Design in 2001. The coast has always played an important part in her life and she moved to Cornwall in 2009, currently living and working from a studio near Helston.

She has enjoyed solo shows at Gallery Forty-Nine in Bridlington and Kentmere House Art Gallery in York. Early in 2014 she was accepted as a member of STISA and is delighted that one of her images is on the poster advertising the STISA Members' Spring Show (1 March - 21 April 2014).