Hello !
Please meet my new artist Lisa Rivas, a bilingual, fine arts painter,and a wonderful surface designer.
In her own words,'' Living and designing go hand in hand in my world..''
Please scroll down to read more about this amazing artist... Happy reading !
How would you describe yourself?
I am a bi-cultural, multi-faceted artist that has lived in a few cities and countries. I am also a bit of a loner, I am intuitive, very curious and always creating, making... investigating, trying new things.
What do you like to do when you are not designing?
Things that I enjoy doing are cooking (new foods and recipes specially), gardening and making things for the home. I just remodeled my bathroom where I created the tile design for the wall and custom painted the vanity for the sink. I enjoy sewing, yoga, meditation, writing and sharing with people. Love swimming!
Describe your style?
My style is multifaceted, fluid, layered, color with depth or pattern. There is always an extra dimension somewhere in every piece, it just happens!
What's your favorite color?
I love color. It makes me feel alive and connected. At this moment in my life I am embracing blue, all blues. I just left a long period of almost 2 decades with green . I remember really liking pink, which I still do.
I see colors many times as shapes, like a red dot, a blue square, a green triangle, a yellow circle + orange spiral and so forth.
Tell us about your first show?
My first show took place when I was about 7 years old. I had won the "Prismacolor Award" in Caracas, Venezuela. This meant a small exhibit and the prize of the largest set of Prismacolors (48 then), I was in heaven! This actually made me aware of ART as something of merit and eventually a real form of expression. At my first solo show in Caracas, Venezuela, I was 25 years old, it was at very well known art gallery and I was told that this was a serious life long commitment towards all the collectors that were buying my work. Personally I was horrified upon hearing this, adding being very exhausted, it had taken me over a year to paint these 40 paintings. I have been at it since, plus working as a designer.
About my surface design collection ---
My real dream had always been textile and surface design but I had no idea how to break into this field, for lack of available information. It was not until last year that I saw the potential of my work fitting into this field of surface design. I enrolled into a few of the on-line courses to see how does it happen and understand what is a collection. I consider that my first official collection was created through one of these courses "The Sellable Sketch" taught by Michelle Fifis, she is a wonderful teacher. I learned how to approach and create a collection for a star client. I choose an elder, high fashion, runway model (btw, she has no idea about this) for a very well known "casa de modas". I did some research on her and tried to feel her style and essence and create a collection that would enhance her looks and life, my approach was actually similar to how I paint a painting. I infuse the design with spirit.
When did you get the idea that 'designing and mixed media' was the thing you love?
The whole concept of design and mixed media intermixing had been occurring for quite a while in my work, my paintings always had this flow of patterns and colors. They were not created in the traditional paint method I had always thought outside of the box, being very resourceful with my materials and methods. My lines are rendered in wax with the "tjanting tool"... It is actually a variation on the batik methods, and I don't use dyes nor cloth. I use all kinds of papers, watercolor, gouache, fluid acrylics, even homemade inks and dyes! My background and studies were originally in Graphic Design and Fiber Arts, before the days of computers. I have mastered some digital applications like Illustrator and Photoshop, having been with them since the beginning. And now I'm looking into generative graphics and the real, real mixed media like real seeds and stains, the possibilities are endless.
Anything you want to share to your readers about setting up his/her own business?
A lot of people think I have this full- fledged business, I just figured this informal way of making an income, it is a lot of work! I have held some permanent jobs with a few clients for 10 years or more working with my graphic design / packaging and site-map skills. The biggest mistake I has been not realizing work and career possibilities / opportunities that were out there. Today I am trying to understand how to create a dynamic business with these skills, and would love to travel more, maybe be a buyer.
Who is your dream client ?
I would love to design for the fashion industry and be involved hands-on! My dream client would be my muse Jacquie Tajah-Murdock, Dolce and Gabbana, Marimeko and perhaps a Bollywood movie!
Tell us a bit about your biggest challenge in your career, and the way you handled it?
My biggest challenge has been in being too alone. I have no complaints about interruptions, so my time seems endless and I can really focus. The problem arises when I have to relate to others, connecting has been difficult for me, it's like I miss the boat somewhere. Time flies and I have actually mistaken which day of the week it is a few too many times. Thanks to social media I have been connecting and communicating more with my peers and this industry. I have just begun!
Your greatest inspiration is?
My greatest inspiration is nature in all it's splendor!
How would you describe your work place?
My whole house is a huge studio, I call it my laboratory, a bit of a circus too. The living-room, my bedroom, the bathrooms and the front porch are relaxing/rest areas, no projects are allowed.
Where can people contact you ?
People can see my work on my website (which is a work in progress, so visit often), there is fine art, design, a blog and soon a shop!
I'm very easy to work with, so contact me if you are interested in my work.
Visit: http://lisarivas.com
I want to thank Nandita for this wonderful opportunity to be featured on her site and spread my art to the other side of the world!
When she invited me I was very excited about the offer because I have been a great admirer of the beauty of India with it's traditions and people.
Hopefully one day (soon) I will visit your incredible country, it has been on my wish list for many years. Namaste!
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Thank you so much Lisa ! It was really wonderful talking to you .... I hope your dream (of visiting India) comes true so that I can meet you too !!!
Have a lovely week ahead ...
