Lisa Marder

Artist Statement

I am a contemporary landscape painter. I work in acrylic and a variety of other media. I have always loved to draw and paint, and have had a lifelong affinity for nature, finding spiritual sustenance in natural places and open spaces. I was a Biology major and Environmental Studies minor in college, then earned a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture. It was during that time, while taking undergraduate art classes, that I found my way back to painting.

The landscape is ever changing, the same place dramatically different depending on time of day, weather, season, and quality of light. Time passes quickly, but for me, painting is a way to slow time down and hold on to those fleeting moments where light, color, and atmosphere combine to create a feeling of awe and transcendence.

These moments are often encountered on walks, where the pace is slow enough to foster active looking and deep seeing. Armed with a camera, and sometimes a sketch pad, I take multiple pictures which I use as reference material. Combined with a memory of the feeling evoked, and a response to the painting as it develops, I use them to create a finished work in the studio. Other times I paint outside directly on the spot, refining the painting in the studio.

My goal is to capture the spirit of the landscape and my response to it as well as to conjure memories and emotions in my viewers. I hope, too, that my paintings help to highlight the importance of preserving areas like these.