Lizel completed her BA Fine Arts degree in 1991 at the University of Pretoria, majoring in painting. In the following years she dedicated most of her time and energy to raising three children while partnering with her husband André Otto in their family business, Otto Sculpture & Design. Lizel mostly practiced her personal art making on a part-time basis at this time in her career.
Since 2015 she has been working as a full-time fine artist, taking part in numerous group exhibitions and working on private commissions. Lizel draws inspiration from the relationships between people, experiences in her immediate environment and nature as the central sources for her artistic endeavours.