LISA MARIE PEDERSEN

Living and traveling on the west coast has been a constant inspiration for me.

While driving back and forth from Santa Barbara to Orcas Island, where I have a tiny cottage on the sea, I look for subjects for my paintings. I am moved by the dramatic change in landscape as I witness oak and eucalyptus give way to cedar, Douglas fir and hemlock.

The road or highway itself is a subject that I like to explore. I like the juxtaposition between something manmade and it’s natural surroundings. Lately, I have been drawn to evolve an abstract image out of a natural setting. For instance, I am captivated by the reflection of a row of trees against a pond and find that the mirror effect gives way to a pleasing pattern.

I am particularly compelled by vertical and horizontal lines in my work as well as the striations of color in nature, as they appear as sky against tree, against field, water and such.

The colors that I choose to use are not necessarily what I see in the actual subject matter, but rather that which comes to my mind in the moment. I like to bring a dreamy quality to my work by using a soft brush to blend colors. I always search to pare down color and simplify my composition.

I choose to paint on birch plywood, as the grain quality tends to come through the painting at times, thereby adding an extra element of texture. At times I paint with my non-dominant hand because it allows what comes through to be fresh and unencumbered. I also paint rapidly so that I don’t give myself too much time to think.

Since childhood, Lisa Marie Pedersen has found herself immersed in the creative arts. Raised during the 60’s and 70’s, in the small “artsy” town of Sierra Madre, just north of Pasadena, she and her sisters were swept up in the artistic movement of that time. There was always a big crock of colored pencils on the kitchen table, and her parents, (both artists) encouraged her to draw from an early age. Artistic talent runs through her family tree. Her grandfather and great uncle were Danish landscape painters and her sister Janet is an illustrator in New York.

Lisa graduated from USC and then went on to study in the UCLA Architectural and Interior Design Program. She continued taking fine art classes through the years. When her children started school, she began to study painting with her friend, established oil painter John Brosio, who studied with Wayne Thiebaud at UC Davis. After a year of working together, John encouraged her to paint professionally.

Lisa loves the diverse beauty of the California landscape as well as the Pacific Northwest. She has traveled up and down the western coastline, capturing the dwindling open spaces, the orange groves, and the eucalyptus and oak trees that dot the countryside. Her strong sense of design is evident in her paintings. She continues to search for pattern in nature and uses her limited palette as a way to express only the essentials. She paints with water based oils on birch plywood panels.

Lisa has shown her paintings in venues along the coast as far south as Pasadena and as far north as Orcas Island in Washington. She maintains a base in Santa Barbara, CA, where she has a working studio and exhibits at various venues including 10 West Gallery and in the Funk Zone. She currently is developing a studio on Orcas Island, WA, and is also excited to be introducing her work at the A.Space Design Gallery in Menlo Park, CA.