Hello, fabulouses, and welcome back to the blog!

Today, I have a very special interview with Lisa Graham, an extraordinary artist on Etsy, to share with y’all. Yay! 

Lisa Graham of Wichita, Kansas creates fabulous art pieces that the VIP absolutely adores. Every time she lists new art in her shop, I become even more of a fangirl. Hm…I foresee my future apartment being filled with Lisa Graham paintings and sketches. It will be FAB. U. LOUS.  

Now, without further ado, I present to you the VIP Interview with Lisa Graham of Lisa Graham Art. Whoo hoo! Come on, let’s go!

VIP: Tell me a little bit about you and your art. 

Lisa: I am the quiet person at the party, but I will talk your ears off if we are one on one.  I have been married nearly 24 years,and we have two grown and married sons and one grandson.   I worked as a registered nurse for over 20 years, but stepped away over a year ago.  There were some huge life changes and transitions happening in my family, and I wanted to be more available to help whenever the needs were there.  Staying home has also given me the time to pursue my art more fully, and I have had many surprising successes this past year since quitting nursing.   Art has truly become my passion, and I feel very blessed to have this career change, though I am not shutting the door on nursing just yet–I keep my license current.

VIP: What inspired you to become an artist?

Lisa: I have always practiced some form of art.  I danced in my childhood and teenage years, played piano and cello in my 20’s and 30’s, and dabbled in a few other things in between. However, I did not start drawing and painting until I was in my 40’s.  I remember it so vividly.  One Friday night I was bored and out of nowhere I had an urge to draw.  I drew a chair in our living room using our grown son’s Crayola pencils.  It took me three hours to draw and color that chair…I mean I was in the zone!  It felt like I had tapped into a part of my brain that had not been used before.  For two months, drawing became my passion.  I began painting soon after when a friend suggested i,t and I have been painting since.  I still love to draw too. 

VIP: When you are not painting/drawing, what do you enjoy doing?

Lisa: I am a total nature lover, and I love to walk–I walk two miles minimum every day with my Golden Retriever, Hurley, who you will see a lot on my Facebook and Instagram.  I just simply love being outside in general whether I am walking, reading in the hammock, or working in the yard.  I also love watching movies, and trips to Barnes and Noble where I grab a coffee and walk around looking at books and art magazines. 

VIP: Who or what inspires your art pieces?

Lisa: The inspiration comes from various places. My favorite way to paint is intuitively, which is where you just start laying down colors and see what happens, and often a female figure or other figures show up in those types of paintings.  There are a lot of women in my family, and they are all strong women who have survived a lot, and I am certain that they influence my art greatly. I  also find inspiration in old photos, beautiful magazine images, my own photos, and sometimes the people I see in public will prompt a painting.  I love capturing humanity in my art–all the emotional stuff–but I do not set out to do this on purpose…It just sort of happens most of the time. 

VIP: What color best describes you?

Lisa: Light Green. I am both yellow and blue…but more yellow than blue. :)

VIP: How would you describe your personal style?

Lisa: Classically comfortable–I wear a lot of cardigans.

VIP: How would you describe your ideal vacation?

Lisa: A secluded cabin in the woods with the ocean to the left and the forest to the right.  I would go on a ten mile hike in the woods with my best friend (my husband Vic) and my dog.  We would go beach combing afterwards, build a fire right there on the beach, lay on a plaid blanket, listen to the waves, and watch the sun go down.  So, basically Northern California.  

VIP: Describe your art in 5 words.

Lisa: Expressive, emotional, quirky, whimsical, and intuitive.

VIP [VIP Question]: What is one item in your closet that you would not toss out and why?

Lisa: My chocolate brown hooded jacket.  I always have one whether it be from Old Navy or Eddie Bauer.  I love brown because it goes good with my salt and pepper hair, and I truly love the color because it reminds me of the outdoors.

Shop Lisa Graham Art online in your PJs! Click here to visit her shop NOW.

Check out the video below to see a slideshow of Lisa Graham’s art pieces of 2013.

Keep up with Lisa Graham: 

Blog here.

YouTube here.

Facebook here.

Twitter here.

Pinterest here.

Stay Fabulous,

Abby Hathorn