We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Jordan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I first picked up a brush to experiment with watercolor in late 2021 – an impulsive Covid hobby, born of feeling a little stir crazy in my home. I started with a few online tutorials and paint-along videos, but most of what I learned to springboard my career and capability as a watercolor artist came from my art mentor Kal Anderson. There is certainly technique to learn with watercolor – how to paint wet-on-wet versus wet-on-dry, water flow control, understanding color theory and mixing – but far more critical were the lessons that Kal shared around mindset.

Through my mentor relationship with Kal I learned to break down perfectionism, be present and attentive with my painting process, and bring a sense of brilliant curiosity to each brush stroke and new watercolor experiment. Being able to let go of an entire lifetime of deep perfectionism and fixation upon results, and instead delve with enthusiasm into play, experimentation, and non-attachment – even learning to love failure and the growth that comes from it – were key to my early development as a watercolor artist.

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 am an emerging self-taught watercolor artist located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. I began watercolor painting in late 2021 after deeply connecting with the serene creative practice that goes hand-in-hand with watercolor technique; 8 months later I made plans to depart from my 18-year career in the tech industry to pursue art full time. Since discovering watercolors I have not put my paintbrush down, constantly creating under the inspirational auspices of my neighborhood, my natural surroundings in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and anywhere my wanderlust takes me.

My work captures the joys and pleasures of Seattle both grand and small: the beauty of lush neighborhood flowers, the cozy intimacy of a shared cocktail, or the sweeping vistas of our skylines and mountains. I hope to inspire viewers to pause and truly observe the world around them, encouraging a moment of reflection and appreciation for city life on the doorstep of a natural wonderland. You can find me around Seattle examining complicated tangles of power lines, scrutinizing reflections in puddles, and saying hello to the neighborhood crows.

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?

As I have begun to pursue art full time, I’ve truly come to embrace how necessary it is to nurture your inner creative – being attuned to creative ebb & flow, remaining attentive to what inspires you to create, examining what time of day or environments motivate you, and making sure you create opportunities to kindle that creative flame. Some people may be motivated by looking at new art or listening to music, some by creating collaboratively, some by sitting quietly in nature alone, some by stretching the bounds of what type of art they like to make, or some by making lots and lots of things in their comfort zone. As a new artist you may not innately know what time of day you are most likely to feel creative motivation. nor what activities bolster your creativity – experimenting and keeping a log of how I felt was a huge help to calibrate me on what to do to keep my creative furnace smoldering.

As an artist with bills to pay, it is also critical to find the right balance between hustle & creation. It is an unfortunate fact of life that a huge percentage of your time as a creative will be spent on things that are Not Art – applying to shows and galleries, running your website and social media, networking with other creatives, building your artist CV, working out pricing strategies, deciding if you want to offer reproductions, doing inventory management… the list goes on and on! It is easy to spend 40 hours a week on these operational tasks and no time at all on art, particularly when you are just starting out and building a following. Many find (myself included!) that these tasks dampen their creative energy. It’s critical to create mechanisms to keep hustle tasks in balance with creative flow” to read “It’s crucial to create mechanisms to keep hustle tasks in balance with creative flow – whether that’s time boxing a certain number of hours a day, taking “no hustle” weeks, or even looking for other artists who might want to “trade” hustle tasks – for example, I’m always shocked how much easier it is to edit and add flourish to another artist’s bio or work statement, rather than my own!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

We do not live in a society that is friendly to keeping full time artists fed, clothed, and housed – it’s almost enough to make one long for bygone eras when wealthy patrons kept household artists in residence! Even if you do not consider yourself a “creative,” take time to view art, engage with art, and buy art. If you can, fill your walls and update those walls from time to time. If you can’t, take time to truly look at and interact with the art and artists you see around town – talk to them about their work, engage your curiosity about their process and themes, and tell others about their awesome work. Share & like their social media posts, show up for their events, tell them what you like in their work, bring them snacks, and encourage them. Community love and support are immensely nourishing and essential to creatives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kyrcreates.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyr.creates/