Lisa Black, Artist, Photographer, Poet, Printmaker



Lisa Black, 1967

 By the time I became acquainted with Lisa Black’s work in 2006, she had already won more than 150 awards and had worked steadily as an artist for over forty years (while raising two daughters and babysitting her grandchildren). The occasion was my reviewing a competition at the Stamford Art Association called “Far Away Places” as arts writer for the Times-Mirror Newspaper Syndicate.

Black took First Place for “Getty Amphitheatre,” a starkly geometric color photo with straight lines intersecting the semi-circles of huge rows of steps. In an unprecedented coup, she also took Second Place for “Geoffrey’s Malibu.”



                                 Getty Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, 2006                                      



The artist noted, “I loved the broad sweep and geometry of the Amphitheatre. It was wonderful to be there in person to see this beautiful structure on a sun-filled day.” What the panel of judges recognized at that, and so many other competitions, was Black’s ability to use the innate vision of a true artist to look beyond and see the extraordinary in commonplace scenes.



Lisa Black, who received her undergraduate degree in Art History and French and a diploma from the Sorbonne in French Civilization, is also listed in The International Who's Who in Poetry, Who’s Who in American Art, 2010, and is a member of the National League of American Pen Women. Her mature artwork has evolved from a marvelous mélange of influences and represents a fusion of many talents -- combining the insight gained from journeys to exotic places -- with the agility of a skilled painter, the objectivity of an anthropologist and the soul of a philosopher. She has never stopped reaching out and trying new techniques to enrich her art.

Ode to the Seed Pod 2010
Mixed Media Acrylic structure
including seed pods found on streets of Fairfield, Connecticut

As a child, she enjoyed the pictures she saw in Life Magazine and later, during her travels with her husband, Tom, (Tom Black worked on the business end for Life and Time Magazines  and later, helped establish the Smithsonian Magazine, where he served for 25 years before retiring as associate publisher), she met several of the photographers she had admired – Alfred Eisenstaedt, Cornell Capa, Carol and Shelly Mydans and John Dominis.

Lisa Black
Taken by husband
Tom Black
1967

She writes on her website, www.LisaBlack.com, that she enjoys taking pictures of whatever catches her eye, “being able to freeze the images in still time – where they can be seen and enjoyed over and over again. She always knew she wanted to paint, and after seeing Picasso’s work in Paris, she had “little choice but to begin.” Other influences have included Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, the Abstract Expressionists and, to some extent, Andy Warhol.  



             Black has experimented with the bold colors of acrylics, the magic of watercolors, the joy of monotypes and the endless possibilities of washes. “My purpose is to explore and experiment with a variety of media for the sheer joy of producing art that is colorful, strong, expressionistic and individualistic," notes Black. She has also taken classes in computer photography software, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 2-9 and is as proficient technically as she is artistically. Her studies include classes at the Art Students’ League in New York, The Rowayton Arts Center, The New York Institute of Photography, and The Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Nanoflower
created in colaboration with Cristian Orfescu,
founder of the NanoArt Movement
created using Photoshop Elements 6

Volcano I - Acrylic

  Prizewinner at the Rowayton Arts Center and was sold there.

Lisa Black’s artwork conveys a rich fusion of color that is wonderfully eclectic, filling the walls with an exciting energy, bombarding the senses with imagery, and saturating the viewers’ eyes with color and form.

Glass and Shadows series 2011
Fairfield Photographers' Network Topic



Scission Monotype
Created at Center for Contemporary Printmaking



For a more comprehensive library of Lisa Black’s work, visit www.LisaBlack.com.

Lisa Black today with her newest artwork



Cosmos 2011
Acrylic