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Spraygraphic Interview with Artist Lisa Congdon
By Spraygraphic | March 6, 2009
Spraygraphic Interview with Lisa Congdon
SG: Please tell us about yourself?
LC: Hi! Well, my name is Elisabeth, but most people have called me Lisa since I was very little. I am a mostly self taught artist and illustrator. I have taken a couple painting classes but never went to school for art. I actually did not start painting or drawing until I was 33 years old. I live with my dog Wilfredo and my two cats Margaret and Barry. I also own a store and gallery in San Francisco called Rare Device. We sell awesome design objects, art/design books and modern housewares, along with clothing and artist-inspired products. We also show the work of emerging artists from around the world in our gallery space. I swim two miles in an outdoor pool about three to four times a week to stay sane in my crazy life.
SG: Where do you currently live and work?
LC: I live in the Mission District of San Francisco and I share a big studio space with 6 other artists in the Dogpatch neighborhood.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
LC: I think most people would call me a mixed-media artist. I mostly paint and draw, but dabble in paper collage and needlework too.
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
LC: Unless I am doing a specific illustration job for a client, I like to create bodies of work that include several pieces that are part of a series. I am really inspired by the natural world and by old things. My two favorite places are the forest and the flea market. I’ve done a series on California plant life, animals and birds (I grew up in California and am pretty smitten with this state’s natural beauty). I did another series inspired by vintage sepia-toned photographs and lace. A couple years ago I made a body of work based on the color illustrations in vintage Gray’s Anatomy books. Another series was inspired by radiolarians, which are beautiful single cell organisms that live in the ocean.
When I start working, my process all depends what I am making. When I am painting or drawing animals or portraits of people, I work from source material to try to attain some accuracy in my depiction. Usually I sketch on my panel with pencil first to get the proportions and dimensions right. Then I go in with paint or ink. My more abstract, patterned, geometric pieces are created from my head. I paint with gouache, mostly, unless I am making a large painting, and then I use acrylic. Lately I have been really into soft body acrylic paint, which has the consistency of gouache.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
LC: This does happen to me occasionally, especially when I am working on a lot of stuff at once on deadline. Usually I go to a bookstore and look at books I love books about different parts of the world, photography books, monographs of other artists. I do this a lot to get unblocked.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
LC: Currently I am obsessed with painting animals. I’ve painted several recently for a book being published next year and cannot seem to stop. I want to paint as many animals as I possibly can before I get tired of it. I am really inspired by how different people paint animals in different ways. I look at books about animals a lot. I recently bought an old natural history book published at the turn of the century at a store in Brooklyn. The animals in it were all illustrated by the same man, and they are really sort of bizarre. He was trying to depict them accurately, but they are all out of proportion and most of them look really fierce. I also love old Audobon books. The illustrations of animals and birds in those are also really interesting.
SG: Where has your work been seen?
LC: I’ve shown a lot since I got started–16 solo or joint shows since 2006. I’ve been really lucky that way. I started showing in shops and salons. And now I am showing in more white wall gallery spaces. My most recent solo show was at the BellJar Gallery in San Franciisco. In December I showed at PaperBoat in Milwaukee. This summer I did a major joint show with artist Lisa Solomon at a large gallery in New Hamphire called Artstream. My illustrations are popping up a bit now too, mostly in Chronicle Books products, in books, journals and soon a card set.
SG: Where will it be seen next?
LC: I am part of a group show at Needles and Pens in San Francisco in May. I will be having a show at the Curiosity Shoppe Gallery in San Francisco in July.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
LC: A book! I would love to do a book of drawings and paintings and photographs with very little, if any, text.
SG: What is your favorite color?
LC: Turquoise blue.
SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?
LC: This is SUCH a hard question for me. I have so many favorite artists. I have to say Margaret Kilgallen, who has been on my favorite list without interruption for many years. She was not around for long enough to show us what she was capable of creating, but in her short time on this earth, she created work that was completely new, and bold and interesting for it’s time. There is nothing she created that I do no love. I am also currently very in love with the work of Mark Warren Jacques, Irana Douer, Christina Empedocles, Ian Johnson, and Mike Maxwell.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
LC: I just bought a big book about french artist Annette Messager called Word for Word. Fantastic.
SG: Ever do a self portrait? Where is it now?
LC: Yes, I have done one in ink. It’s sitting in a flat file in my office. You can see it here.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
LC: My studio. I have amazing studio mates who make incredible art. It’s a big, light-filled space filled with glitter and paper scraps and music that we share. Someone is always making some food in the kitchen and it’s usually pretty easy to find a beer in the fridge.
SG: Any final words of advice?
LC: Stay positive.
Topics: Animal Art, Artist Interviews, San Francisco Art Scene, Women Art |
One Response to “Spraygraphic Interview with Artist Lisa Congdon”
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March 10th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I heart Lisa Congdon!