Lisa Marder
Art gives me the power to
visually express my awe and reverence
Instagram: @lisamarderart
As a landscape painter, art gives me the power to visually express my awe and reverence for nature and the landscape and to connect with other people. It allows me to influence what people see and pay attention to and it enables me to bring comfort, beauty, and joy to people who may be suffering or dealing with hardship.
I make impressionistic/abstract landscape paintings.
What’s the story behind your work?
My work evolved from an early and longtime interest in nature and design. As a graduate student in landscape architecture I took undergraduate art classes andfoundI was more interested in capturing the essence and beauty of a place through paint than in molding it by design.
What do you hope people will feel when they see it?
I hope people are reminded of a place or time that was special to them, and that my work brings them some happiness.
How does your work create community or bring people together?
I feel like my work as an artist brings people together on an individual basis, a one-on-one connection with the painting. My work as a painting instructor brings people together in a more communal way as we talk and share ideas and thoughts about our paintings and the painting process.
Who helped you along the way?
I have been helped along the way by many people. My mentor, Carole Bolsey, an amazing artist, has helped me enormously throughout my career as a teacher, friend, and colleague. In addition, I have learned so much from my many students throughout the years. Some have become very good friends and colleagues and I recently had a group show, called Four Friends, with three of them - Donna Haig Friedman, Carol Branton, and Joanna Drew - at the South Shore Art Center. We will be showing together again at the Linden Ponds Gallery later this year. I also have been helped so much by my collectors and people who take an interest in my art, who talk about it, promote it, and boost my confidence when self-doubt creeps in.
I have lived on the South Shore for 37 years, and in all that time, I have found the artists here to be so encouraging of each other and generous with their time and experience. In addition, artists here are fortunate to be supported by many wonderful people who also love the arts.
And of course, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without the support of my family: my husband and my sons, who, when they were babies, I carried in a backpack while I was painting, which prompted the switch from oils to less toxic acrylics.
How do you give back/support others?
I devote a lot of time and energy to the South Shore Art Center, primarily in education and outreach programs. I was a mentor in the Art Stars program for many years, collaborating with selected high school students from surrounding towns on a large-scale project displayed at the Festival on the Common. I also volunteer as a docent with Artist in Residence, in which area schools send a grade - typically 3-5th grade - to the art center for a lecture/demonstration and hands-on project. I was on the Board of Advisors and Education Committee for many years, and am now on the Board of Directors. In addition, I have taught various classes there, to allages, over the span of 30 years. I currently teach landscape painting and am also offering in the spring, along with Kaly Molnar, a creativity class inspired by the Artist’s Way. I also try to be accessible to students, whether past or present, for feedback or professional advice when asked. Additionally, I donate artwork to various causes and fundraisers, both the South Shore Art Center and others, including in the past, the Norris Cotton Cancer Center Healing with Art program.
What you’re exploring and why it matters:
To quote Mary Oliver, “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” I’ve always been interested in the intersection of art and science, and how both rely on observation. I majored in Biology in college, got a master’s degree in landscape architecture, and soon began practicing art exclusively. I may have made art my career but I’m also a scientist at heart. I like knowing why things are the way they are, and I feel like that knowledge helps me create paintings that better represent what I see in the landscape. While painting outside I like to match the colors I see and convey the light, time of day, and weather while still painting quickly and impressionistically. However, I’m also attracted to strong expressive colors, value contrast, and abstraction, so in my studio paintings I’m working on developing more of an abstract approach to the landscape, experimenting with colors and techniques, animating the painting more and using color to convey more expressively my response to my subject.
The longer I paint and teach art, the more I realize there is to learn, so I’m always pushing myself to try new things and new approaches, as much for myself as for keeping my classes interesting and inspiring. It keeps me engaged and challenged and, hopefully, it motivates and inspires my students, too, bringing them a sense of accomplishment and joy in creating.
