We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lisa Alonzo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lisa below.

Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I was an avid fan of Bob Ross and learned how to paint trees when I was really young. But I definitely hit a wall- if I wanted to be able to make more representational work, I needed to go to school. I went to the Academy of Art in San Francisco, learned how to draw figures, how to paint using oils. It was at this time I started using pastry tips to make my paintings. In hindsight there were a lot of tools at my disposal that I didn’t utilize. YouTube had just become a thing, I didn’t use it much. I think it could replace a formal education if one was determined enough. Down the road I used it to learn many frosting and piping techniques. You just have to be careful to not get sidetracked and go down too many rabbit holes!

If I could go back in time, I would spend more time studying art history and going to look at contemporary gallery shows and museums. I did not have a great understanding of artists beyond Warhol, Pollock and other very mainstream artists. It’s important to make our own work but also think about how our work might contribute to the larger conversation happening in the world. Acquiring business skills and insight into managing a career in the art world would have been incredibly helpful. I did not consider this angle much and it’s honestly hard to believe, because it’s arguably the most important thing.

Lisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an artist. A painter originally from Northern California, now I am based out of Maine. I create my paintings using solely cake decorating tools. My main objective is to make art that is so beautiful or interesting the viewer cannot look away. In an age of instant gratification and short attention spans, I intentionally like to make work that is very time consuming and detailed. Something that undoubtedly feels made by an actual human.

As a child I was enamored by frosting. On birthdays, I wanted that corner piece of cake and had dreams of becoming a cake decorator. My obsession with the sculptural nature of frosting continued in school with my adoption of using cake decorating tools to create my paintings. I utilize these tools to address topics such as environmental toxins, propaganda, WW2, and whistleblowers.

I use my unique painting technique to explore potentially unsavory themes and make them more palatable by rendering them as heavily frosted confections. I am currently working on a series of still life paintings. These are meant to be especially indulgent- rich in symbolism, texture, patterns and saturated color. The overarching theme connecting my body of work is an examination of consumption- of information, goods, and our historic inability to decipher truth from fiction. By piping acrylic gel medium onto the surface with pastry bags and tips, I create an enticing visual and tactile experience for the viewer. The end result is a painting that looks deceptively good enough to eat: an abundance of peaks, starbursts, flowers, pointillistic and rhythmic dots, and ribbons of graduated color draped over decadent mounds of paint masquerading as frosting.

I have shown my paintings widely throughout the US, including shows in New York, Chicago, and Miami, and am featured in the collections of the Federal Reserve and the 21C Museum. You can find my work in numerous publications including: American Art Collector Magazine, Create Magazine, and most recently, the I Like Your Work spring catalog.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams. This is a quick annd easy read and essentially reminds the reader that there is a lesson in every failure. Life is made of mostly failures and yet if we keep going we ultimately succeed. The life of an artist is filled with a lot of rejection, so utilizing this mindset is so helpful. I also have to mention The Creative Act: A Way of Being, by Rick Rubin. This is an inspiring book filled with short, rhythmic passages. You can read a couple of pages a day and it just might turn your life around.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The romantic notion of being a starving artist. Growing up there was always the idea that to choose a life of art meant also choosing a life of little means- it was a noble sacrifice.When I was in my early twenties, I believed the artists that were successful were different than me, and that I was lacking something intrinsically. After going to Miami for Basel for the first time and spending time with other working artists, I realized they were no different than me, and that I must first value my own work for others to value it. And, while its true that sometimes the life of an artist can feel like “feast or famine” it is possible to create a life of abundance, and much of the success comes from having vision, a positive growth mindset, and a hard work ethic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.lisaalonzo.net