Lisa Mertins' Life IllustratedLisa Mertins' Life Illustratedkinda quirky, sketchbookesque, average people won't get some of it! life as an illustrator, mom, chicken keeper, love-life attendant...i don't think you'll be bored. Articles
Kismet On An OC Freeway
2008-01-12 03:26:00 Some people believe everything happens randomly. Others believe in fate and fortune. When things happen to me that seem like magic, I can’t help but think that big forces are at work, trying to tell me something. Like unexpected fireworks when someone kisses you for the first time, powerful messages just can’t be ignored by me. Not long ago, I was driving to Brea. I’ve made the drive quite a lot lately, since Brea Bead Works is the only store around that carries Silver Art Clay. Right in front of me, this streamer was sailing along on the freeway. It was fast and jaunty coming out from the back of that truck, sassy and irreverent. It snapped and danced before me, reminiscent of the gorgeous sequence in the movie American Beauty of the flying plastic bag. Damn, but doesn’t that scene tie with the one from the Graduate? It looked like a flat tape like the type in a video cassette. Catching the sunlight, it moved so beautifully, I had to remind myself to pay att... More About: Freeway
Knowing Me
2008-01-11 04:17:00 I feel so sheepish. My new friend Suzanne was kind enough to send me this questionnaire for a day when I didn’t know what to blog about. Well, I think I’m getting a cold and I’m too crabby to blog so, whaddayaknow? Today’s the perfect day for the Knowing Me, Knowing You Questionnaire! Favorite apple: A tough one, I’ll have to say my iMac. For eating, Winesap. Elvis, Costello or Presley?: Costello Last time you sent a letter: Ooo, I can’t remember Combine 3 men to make the perfect man: I’m more interested in the imperfect man. The perfect man would be too boring! If you had a horse, what would you name it? This one’s easy Barbie or Buster (since I have them!) What time in the past do you think you should have lived? 17th century If you HAD to BE one character played by Drew Barrymore in one of her movies, who would it be?: (if you are a boy-replace with John Cusack.) Does she play opposite John Cusack? That one. One place you would ...
Realism, Lisa Style
2008-01-10 03:46:00 My illustrations usually have only a passing resemblance to real life. And I have debates once in awhile about the difference between photographs and illustration. Mostly, for me, photos capture a moment in time of reality. While the illustrations and paintings I like best are unique to the artist’s imagination. A recent assignment for National Geographic really challenged — oh, what, you want me to go back to the part where I did something for one of the greatest organizations on the planet, the National Geographic Society? Yeah, well, you know, I work with the big shots. What can I say? Ok, back to the story, I had to be realistic! As in, “we’re checking your sketch with the Elephant Experts in Africa!!!” EEEK! So, in spite of my AVERSION to using photos for reference, in this case, it was critical. In the end, I have some images I’m very happy with. I posted the prettiest, and this sexy (yeah Keith, I said sexy) garbage guy that represents wha... More About: Style , Lisa , Realism
Blog365 Rules
2008-01-09 05:51:00 I’m paying attention to the one that says I don’t have to write every day, instead I can post a photo (so EASY) or my favorite recipe or something. Since I try to be visual every day, I’ll twist around that rule and instead just randomly recommend some good movies. Go see Juno if you haven’t already. The script is the star of that show. And a great documentary “I Like Killing Flies” by Matt Mahurin about Shopsin’s restaurant in NYC made me want to fly to New York this weekend (but I’m pretty sure Kenny Shopsin wouldn’t allow me to eat there because I’m not a regular!) More About: Rules
Dipped In Wax
2008-01-08 06:30:00 Anyone out there a fan of Tori Amos? Remember her song “Silent All These Years?” “But what if I’m a mermaid…” I usually have songs running through my head when I’m working on a piece, that’s the one that scored this encaustic painting. Another one of my “practice” pieces. This is definitely not my usual work habit. Since I’ve been a commercial illustrator for so many years, I never really done personal pieces. Raising children and making a living with commercial work never left me time. But Oh Encaustic! Fragrant and mysterious, sensual and unpredictable — it’s the first medium that has me enchanted enough to want to paint for myself. As you can see from this piece and the one of Eve, (Joan Osborne’s Lumina; “Eve had to ask, eve had to ask, what is wrong with this? Here is the place, now is the time, let’s invent the kiss”!!!) I have a way to go before I quite have the technique down....
My Favorite Robots
2008-01-06 05:06:00 I don’t care what the Luddites say, all my electronic buddies help make my life more fun and rewarding. And I know I’m not the only one. A friend of mine just got the iPhone for Christmas and no matter what he says, I know he loves that machine. He’s even bought it’s first set of clothes (tee hee)! OK, I admit it, I’m jealous but I will get that machine in Spring of ‘09. Here’s another cute Christmas story; I’ve been frenetically creating stuff in the studio, never mind that it’s my way of escaping reality but it’s all part of the launch of my Etsy shop so that’s my good excuse. I’m burning and melting and buffing and drilling day and night. I have two ways of drilling, the above illustrated rotary tool and a heavy-duty electric drill. So, Newjoe would watch me work and one day came in and said “what you really need is a drill press!” “Naw,” says me, “I don’t WANT a drill pres... More About: Robots , Favorite
Studio Peek (She’s So Tidy!)
2008-01-05 04:53:00 ‘08, a year all in order! If you artists out there can believe this, my friend Keith called my first studio view messy. Sheesh (what does he know?)! The new utilitarian shelves help with the clutter, the lights will stay (and the mini Airstream too) for year-round cheer. Kate, your Skipper clothes are in that first wire basket, ready to be mailed :). The painting centered under the shelves was done by my brother Steve Lawton and the one under the shop light is my daughter Jordan’s. I love the simplicity of hers next to the Amy Ruppel encaustic. And that portrait above the door was done by my dear friend Craig Pursley. More About: Studio , Peek
Adventures Of A Self-Taught Artist
2008-01-04 06:36:00 The title of this piece is endless mermaid. Endless because it took me forever, once I learned how to solder without any instruction. I was once told that “experiential learning,” (otherwise known as learning the hard way) has advantages. I’m skeptical because my son learns that way, just like me. Have I mentioned Ethan? He’s an artist too. Sorta (a story for another day)… This poor mermaid originally had an abalone shell tail but that broke in the solder process, as did the beach glass. Since 3d construction is one of my favorite mediums, working with silver and copper is super cool, and I love beach glass! I intended to sell this piece but it’s rather frail and may just end up as a mascot under the category of what not to do. Anyhoo, this is one of the directions I’m going in for pieces I intend to sell. I’d love to hear thoughts on this if anyone is so inclined. Cheers ’til next time! Click here for the back view: (more&hel... More About: Artist , Adventures , Ventures
Cryptic Spart
2008-01-03 05:27:00 This spam line is connected to an inside joke. If you know me well, you’ll know I can be a snob about some things. I’ll only eat Haagen Dazs ice cream (favorite flavor: Hawaiian Lehua honey and sweet cream). I refuse to drink lousy wine, I’d rather skip a meal than eat fast food and I only drink coffee from fresh ground beans. So New Year’s eve at the Red Lobster because there was a $100.00 coupon was FUNNY! And IRONIC and me going along with nary a grimace means I’m Taking One For The Team! And I do believe that “After that it’s only fun and winning,” truly, I do…
Happy New Year! (And My Resolution)
2008-01-01 19:05:00 Hello friends and visitors. Most felicitous wishes for a happy, healthy 2008! It’s been nearly a year since I started blogging and I’m excited about the things I have in mind for this space in the coming year. First off, I’ve been experimenting with different mediums in the last couple of months and I’m eager to share the struggles along with the results of my “learn by doing” method. The image you see here was done a long time ago for a story in The Register about celebrity egos. It’s appropriate for the new year and self-examination and the Life Illustrated blog and stuff. When I started this post, I was getting all morose and pathetic about why-am-I-doing-this-? Waaa, waaaa! Now, with 2 cups o’ Peet’s in my gut and being through with the poor me crap, I’ve decided, screw it! I’m taking the blog365 challenge! Whoooo hooo! A post a day every day (except Feb. 29)! More Lisa!!! More Spart! New stuff and an etsy (hopefu... More About: New Year , Happy , Happy New Year , Year , Resolution
Merry Christmas!
2007-12-25 21:09:00 I’m done hibernating :0) time to get back to blogging! Best wishes for a happy day… More About: Christmas , Merry Christmas , Merry
The Little Things
2007-12-13 04:58:00 Yesterday at The Register had it’s ups and downs. It started out rocky, had an unfortunate middle and ended with my comeuppance. When things are particularly unpleasant, doesn’t it really help when a True Blue Friend makes a little gesture to lift one’s spirit? I was late, but when I arrived, there was my Amy Ning just back from Japan. She brought me Japanese presents! My favorite fruit, the persimmon. A li’l’ figure called Sonny Angel and a phone charm, (I found more at Strap-ya World.com and they have some cool freaky versions as well). Amy knows how much I love cute little toys especially in PINK! Here’s something I never knew that my friend George told me last week; The Japanese aren’t so good at inventing things but great at perfecting them. I love this take on the classic Kewpie and there’s a Halloween and Christmas version. Whoopee! Can you see the tiny, precious penis? How cute, in a purely anatomical sense, is that?!? More About: Things
Limone Piedmont, Italy
2007-12-11 17:14:00 My posts will be light until after the first of the year, but here’s one of my favorite pictures, taken years ago while on a magic motorcycle ride in the Maritime Alps near Monaco. I found this photo while cleaning the other half of my studio last week (sure, I’ll post that view soon!). I often wonder if these girls grew up to personify the looks on their faces that day. More About: Italy , Limone , Mont
Portraits:
2007-12-10 22:16:00 These illos ran Sunday in the Register with the story about UCI’s research work around the world. I like these best. Butterflies are always fun to draw of course and I got to feature probably one of very few female characters in World of Warcraft. Blood Elf Valeera Sanguinar. Santa, I want this figurine for my studio!!! Women warriors slay me… More About: Portraits
Duncan’s Stumped
2007-12-07 19:13:00 I’ve always found beauty in the wood we get for our wood pile every winter. Once, while living in Michigan, the man who delivered a couple of cords to us said that he took great pride in stacking the cords. He considered it his art form. Sometimes, I can’t bear to burn certain pieces, so I pull them out with the intention of doing something with them — painting the surface with encaustic for instance. This stump that Duncan ’s (briefly!) posing near has sat in a ditch near our house for too long for me to stand it. Ethan and Joe picked it and another, smaller one up this week. It’s perfect to sit on. The work of artist Alma Allen inspires me, maybe all I need is a sander?
A View Of La Cave
2007-12-04 06:00:00 Still trying to recuperate from NaBloPoMo – posting every day for a month. I crapped out on Friday so that means I missed four days. Oh well. I have an excuse! I had to clean my studio due to disgust. So, here it is, a sneak peek of where I while away all my hours: My favorite part of the day is after I turn on the lamp and the lava melts enough to race to the top. Walls of inspiration. Art glass and pottery and my childhood Skipper. My brother Steve’s painting and proof for a friend that I did hang up the junk man! More About: View , Cave
Holy Cow, Two Sparts In A Row!
2007-11-30 05:40:00 I know! Crazy. I just couldn’t help myself. Wacky spam subject lines aren’t the only things the robots send me. I’ve also collected some great names like this one. Can’t you just picture a whole Halfpop clan? Kongsy’s the oddball, preferring American to the traditional European football. When our kids were younger, we’d entertain them with Farkle family faces. Now I prefer thinking of Halfpops. I think they live in a town called Fontuckenbleu. Or perhaps they’re Beaumontians… More About: Holy , Holy Cow
A Rocky Spart
2007-11-29 04:58:00 I’ll get to the spam art momentarily and in the end, the post comes together, I promise. So, I have this thing for rocks. I know I’m not supposed to covet them, but I can’t help myself. When I see a perfect round one, I put it in my pocket. I was in Tucson for Thanksgiving and BOY what a lot of beautiful rocks I saw. At my sister’s house, I found this one and was struck by it’s hounds-tooth-like flecks. I asked if I could have it. Thanks brother-in-law Warren! The spam line “Tall mane coo” struck me today from those I’ve collected. I got to thinking of my love of rocks and how much I enjoy holding them and running my hands over their surface (the rock above is about the size of my hand). So here’s an amazonian, with her “tall mane” cooing to her rock. I think it can hear her, and I bet her coos pierce it’s cold, hard exterior and makes it happy inside! More About: Rocky
Signs
2007-11-28 05:43:00 I love old signs. These two are from a recent trip. Tucson Blyth More About: Signs
One Wish
2007-11-27 06:18:00 It’s useless trying to ignore the specter of “the holidays.” So today, instead I embrace it with this quick sketch of what my dream for Christmas is. And this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. goes with it perfectly: “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”
I Dream Of Jeannie
2007-11-26 17:34:00 This was a cinch-y solution to the Katherine Nguyen story running in today’s Register. I hope she and her boyfriend don’t mind this depiction of them (tee hee!). P.S. Kat has a fun food blog and one of my favorite fashion blogs. More About: Dream
More Encaustic
2007-11-26 05:39:00 Isn’t it funny, when you discover something new that’s captivating, how you see it everywhere you look? Like that thing was there the whole time, just waiting for you to find it? While in Tucson for the holiday, our clan went downtown to 4th street. Lots of cool, hippy stuff and a few galleries. We wandered into a place that seemed perfect for me! El Ojito Springs Creative Art Center had art on the walls, a kiln in back and GUESS WHAT?!?!? An artist showing some encaustic work! Jana Grover became an instant friend as we talked about our shared neophyte stabs at the art form. She told me about workshops she’d taken and how she was taught that the ratio of beeswax to damar crystal is pretty critical. Uh oh…I’ve played that part pretty fast and loose, and I liked the transparency a damar heavy combination created. I wanted a copper border around this piece and should have put it on BEFORE I started. I attached it today with some glitches. My damar-heavy f...
West On The 10
2007-11-25 02:56:00 Four days with the family. These photos say it all. Ethan age 18 as seen by Jordan, 20. More About: West
Never Again!
2007-11-23 08:35:00 When I was doing the Sketch Life blog for the Register, I’d post every week with a “shoe story.” These shoes were sometimes made up and some were real pairs that I owned. Last week, I wore this pair that I absolutely couldn’t resist when I saw them in the store. They’re high and ridiculous but I bought them anyway, thinking they’d be cute with my leopard print wrap dress. So I busted out the outfit for work on Tuesday. They absolutely killed my feet! My Norcal BF coined the term “the 10 minute shoe” meaning they look hot but you can only wear them for ten minutes before the pain begins. And these fit that description perfectly. They got their ten minutes of fame and I’ll NEVER wear them again. I’m thinking of creating a shoe display in my closet. These will be the model I’ll call “Never Do This Again!” I’ll take pictures and post them when I’m done… More About: Never Again
Happy Thanksgiving!
2007-11-22 08:19:00 No working for me or you either! Kiss your kids, hug your sister, be nice to your spouse and eat gobs of turkey! Or Tofurky! Count your blessings and love, love love. It’s easy! More About: Thanksgiving , Happy , Hank
At The Risk Of Embarrassment
2007-11-21 08:19:00 I’m putting up the start of this encaustic work, a personal piece. My story so far: This is my second attempt at encaustic technique. I’m excited about it, the kind of excitement where I can’t wait to get home so I can work on it. That’s a feeling I haven’t had in a long time! The base, a slice of log from our wood pile was sanded and stained. I think the grain is beautiful and I hope to let some of it show through the layers of melted wax damar crystals. This is the result of two hours so far. It didn’t have a theme when I started, but I knew I wanted to paint a naked woman surrounded by flowers. It seems to be shaping up to look like Eve. So I’ll try to explore the original rebel, the woman who was tempted… Stay tuned! More About: Risk
No Kidding
2007-11-20 17:03:00 Another Register piece. This design was inspired by “Charlie Bird” done by artist Matte Stephens. I love his Super-cool, mid-century asthetic. The story is about moms getting back into the hip swing of things after childbirth. More About: Kidding
In The Orange County Register
2007-11-20 05:05:00 I suppose I could skirt the issue of workload at the Register , but that wouldn’t be honest. Amy Ning and I are swamped. Thank God stories still need illustrations and being crazy-busy is what we prefer. The biggest challenge is not believing rumors that someone said the bottom line is quantity over quality. That’s ludicrous, right? Once, a high-ranking manager remarked about increased work-load at the paper as no big deal. When queried why, the response was (paraphrased) “These people are professionals, they won’t do lousy work.” Get it? I think that’s what’s called a back-handed compliment but the person was right. Those on staff now are honorable and too proud to churn out crap. How’d I do with the above caveat to go with these illos? Convinced? I like the graph piece better because I think it’s one of those perfect solutions to go with the story about how Realty Trac might be misrepresenting the numbers of foreclosures they pa... More About: Orange , Orange County , County , Orange County Register
Saturday In Santa Monica
More articles from this author:2007-11-19 05:30:00 My son Ethan, his girlfriend Vanessa and I went gallery hopping yesterday. Part of the time, they looked at art, the other part they spent ditching me (hmmm). It’s taken me a long time to lure him to something I know he’d enjoy and we had a great time! I wanted to see Green Show curated by Mark Murphy at the Robert Berman Gallery. I was hoping to meet Amy Crehore but we missed each other. Her gorgeous “Deja Vu Waltz” looks better here on Murphy’s blog but it was great to see it in person. Lots of groovy Pop Surrealism! And this dreamy Jody Hewgill piece — WOW. We also saw the Ann Summa punk scene photos at the Track 16 Gallery. That’s Wendy O Williams in the pic. don’t you love how straight the woman next to her looks? Then, on to the Mark Kostabi’s Yes Means No show at the Patricia Correia Gallery. I’ve never been a big fan but this piece I totally get. The melting and the passion evoked in the stark black and white is h... More About: Santa , Saturday , Monica , Santa Monica 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
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