We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Willits recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Art was not my original career choice but I think it was always there in the background, waiting for me to re-discover it. Growing up with siblings who were much older than me, I spent a lot of time by myself as a kid, mostly drawing, but also painting and making all sorts of crafty things. Art was my favorite subject in elementary school, but I was steered towards a more academic path in high school. I went on to major in Biology in college and also earned a Master’s Degree. I moved to Charleston and enrolled in a Ph.D. program in the late 1980s. Within a few years, I met my husband, got married, left graduate school and started working in a research lab as a technician. As time went on, I realized that this was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So I worked in a couple of different fields, as an administrative assistant for an apartment developer and also for a local non-profit group. It was interesting to see the world through those very different lenses – academia, small business and non-profit. It was around this time that I started taking art classes at the Gibbes Museum School, as an after work hobby. I had been doing some faux finish painting (that was big in the early 90s) and that was the first time I had picked up a paintbrush in years. Those classes introduced me to the world of art and I met working professional artists. That was a real turning point for me. I decided to make art my full-time profession shortly after I turned 40, with the encouragement of my husband and friends. From there, it just all started to click. I began showing my paintings in a local gallery in 2007, and have been involved in the Charleston art scene ever since. In 2021, I became one of the co-owners of Lowcountry Artists Gallery in Charleston after exhibiting there for a number of years. I feel very fortunate to have landed in such a great town with such a vibrant and welcoming art community. I am grateful for all of the teachers I have had and the art friends I have met along the way. My advice to anyone considering an art career would be, if it’s within your financial means to do so, pursue it, you will never regret it.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, what is the best advice you received in your artistic career?
Some of the best advice that I received early in my career was to paint what you love, and I took that to heart. I love landscape paintings with a strong sense of atmosphere, and that is the quality that I have tried to emphasize in my work. My style tends to be realistic and traditional, but with a painterly edge, so that it might look like a photo from afar, but up close, has all the interesting qualities of a painting. I have always felt a strong connection with Nature and the outdoors. One of my strongest early memories is that of watching clouds pass overhead with my mother, and seeing all the different shapes in them. I think everyone has had that experience, so for me, featuring the sky and clouds takes me back to those carefree times. Living here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, our landscape is mostly flat, so that the sky provides all the drama in a scene. I think that it is interesting that you can go to the marsh every day, but it looks totally different because of the sky. One of the biggest compliments that I get is when someone sees a cloud or a beautiful sunset and sends me a photo to let me know that it reminded them of me. I like that my art helps people to notice the beauty of the world around them in a way that perhaps they didn’t before. There is a quote by Degas that I love: “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” If someone can see and appreciate what I saw in my painting, I feel that I have succeeded as an artist. It is always a thrill to sell my work to collectors and I am especially grateful to have been selected by Trident Technical College and also the Medical University of South Carolina for commissions of my cloud paintings.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
People often come into my tent at art shows and say, “I could never do this. I can’t draw a stick figure.” I mean if I had a dollar for every time I heard that. Anyway, my response is usually, “Have you ever tried? You might surprise yourself.” I think there is a common misconception among non-creatives that you are either born an artist or you are not one. Which is not how I view it at all. I think we are all born creatives, and that whether your creativity is in the field of visual arts, or music, or literature, or food, or gardening – it’s all the same creative stream and we just have to find a way to tap into it. Will I ever paint as well as some of the great Masters? No, but it is still a challenge and every day I can’t wait to go into my studio and see what happens. But if I had kept the mindset that I was not an artist because I didn’t go to art school, I would never be where I am today. I took classes and put in the “brush miles” because I wanted to succeed as an artist. We have to be aware of our limiting beliefs and work to overcome them.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
There are so many rewarding aspects of being an artist, from meeting lots of interesting people and seeing them connect with your work at art shows, but I think the most rewarding for me is inspiring other people to pursue the same path. There is a local artist who let me know that she saw me exhibiting at a show, and that led her to renew her career in painting. I also have an acquaintance who has picked up painting as a hobby, largely from being influenced by my work. It’s wonderful to see others learning and growing as painters. I love the lifelong learning aspect of it as well, and as one of my mentors once said, I think my best painting is my next painting – there is that pursuit hat keeps you wanting to get better, not only technically, but on an emotional level as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lisawillits.com
- Instagram: @lisawillits
- Facebook: Lisa Willits Fine Art
Image Credits
Lisa Willits