We recently connected with Lisa Hirata and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lisa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have always known I wanted to be in the creative field. I studied art and graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a BA in fine arts. But the thought of pursuing a life of an artist straight out of college was daunting. I chose jobs that gave me financial stability and my own art took a back seat. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that I started to create my own work. With such a positive feedback, I made an executive decision not to go back into the corporate world and to pursue my life as an artist professionally.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I don’t exactly know when “my craft” started. I’ve always loved to draw. My family on my mom’s side were all creative and in the arts. My eldest uncle is a renowned oil painter in Japan, my other uncle was an architect, my aunt was a musician and my mother worked as a makeup artist. So I guess creativity ran through my veins.

Besides working on my own art which are usually based on fantastical beings, I love portrait work. My main service I provide is illustrating family and pet portraits. My medium of choice are pastel pencils which allows me to give clients a faster turnaround time. I’m able to grab people from different pictures and to put them into one family portrait. I try my best to portray their individual unique characteristic.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I grew up in the social media world! Specifically, Instagram has opened my eyes to artists from all over the world. Seeing the amount of talent out there would have probably inspired me to actively do art sooner.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that you are putting yourself out into the world. As scary as that sounds, I directly see the results of my effort and I’m in contact with people who accepts and sees me for who I am. For several years, I’ve worked in a field where I would design for others and not get any recognition. As an artist, feeling not seen for your work is quite lonely.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.behance.net/lisahirata-1
• Instagram: @thecheekyasian
• Facebook: The Cheeky Asian’s Art World

Image Credits
Photography by Bron Theron