Lisa Congdon

Welcome to the last *new* feature on the re-designed journal. In this feature I will introduce you to artists whose work inspires me, makes me happy, and makes me want to be a better artist.

I first learned of Lisa Congdon through her A Collection a Day project. For the Collection a Day project, Lisa either draws, paints, or photographs a collection that exists in her home, studio, or mind. After stalking her Collection a Day project for a few weeks, I made the leap and checked out her art and illustration website.

Lisa got into illustration by accident. Before being approached by Chronicle Books to design stationary, her primary source of income was making art for shops and galleries. While she still makes art for these venues, she now has an agent to handle her illustration needs.

I totally adore Lisa’s style. She too was partially raised in Northern California and I was drawn to that fact that her work combines whimsy with natural elements, particularly animals and trees. Plus, she draws fantastic owls. Lisa’s has two primary styles: a more painterly style of animals and nature, and a colorful, graphic, flat style. She attempts to create a mood with her pieces, aiming for a balance of color and boldness with negative space. Lisa told me that when working on animal subjects, she attempts to paint their eyes perfectly, because that is where she connects with living things.

Like me, Lisa is a resident of the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco and draws much of her inspiration from the places that surround her. Lisa says “San Francisco is really bright and beautiful and filled with amazing art and creative people from cultures all over the world.” Like her I feel lucky to live in a city that provides abundant inspiration. She also is attracted to the nature that is present both right here in San Francisco and for miles surrounding the city.

After contacting Lisa I learned that in addition to being an awesome artist and illustrator she co-owns the cutest little shop and gallery in my neighborhood, Rare Device. They sell jewelry, design objects, housewares, books, and art. If you ever are in the ‘hood, you should check it out. I always leave the store wishing that I had more disposable income, because I want to own half the items in the store.