News

February 2022

In the fall I showed a new piece in the invitational “Certain Women” exhibition at Anthony’s Fine Art in Salt Lake City, where artworks explored the Divine Feminine or Mother Goddess. I expressed her with a female mannequin hand and a fluttering cluster of doves, hovering over a child. I showed in another invitational group show at Sears Art Museum, “The Rouge Show” in St. George. In the panel discussion with the artists, we explored the tenuous issues of women artists in Utah. I have also been attending weekly live figure drawing sessions in a Springville studio. I recently finished two paintings, both involving found objects juxtaposed with figuration, to be shown soon. Upcoming events: I will have work in a group show at the sculpture studio of Adam Thomas in Provo on April 1. My studio in Woodland Hills will have an open house and studio tour toward the end of May, details to be announced. And most importantly, the sculptor Anne Gregerson and I are cooking up a major collaboration to take place through 2023!

August 2021

I wrapped up the completion of the Sankofa Furniture Project with a public reception unveiling the new furniture for the Brazos Valley African American Museum on May 7, 2021. This project was a life-changer for me; Ann Johnson and her team of artists of Prairie View A&M were personally inspiring and impacted me with a new sense of community and ties to ancestry. The collaboration, delayed and stretched to three years due to Covid, was also disrupted by the murder of George Floyd and its aftermath. The furniture designs are gorgeous and the Texas A&M fabrication team did exquisite work. Click Here

With the conclusion of Sankofa, I retired from teaching via Zoom with Texas A&M. I miss my fabulous colleagues and students, but I am so excited to return to full-time studio work in Utah.

December 2020

Semester’s over and I can dig in to some real, intense painting in preparation for some exhibitions coming up. In November I coordinated a virtual event for the Sankofa Furniture Project, an art grant I am collaborating on with artist Ann Johnson and the Brazos Valley African American Museum in Bryan, Texas. I introduce the project here: Click Here

On November 23 I gave an artist talk with the exhibition, “Color Theory: Elements of Perception” in the Reynolds Gallery of Texas A&M University. I was brought on as one of the exhibiting artists, and also as a consultant for the planning of the exhibition (I have taught color theory for several years at Texas A&M). See the artist talk here: Click Here

October 2020

Teaching has resumed, zooming from my lofty perch of a studio, Utah to Texas. My studio is a maze of cameras and lights on tripods. I have hired models to come to my studio for live-streaming of figure drawing demos. And I have come up with creative and effective means for teaching Advanced Painting remotely. On September 25, I gave a virtual artist talk for the exhibition, “Persist, Resist, Coexist”. See my portion of the artist talk here at about 17 minutes: Click Here

This exhibition features women’s issues and current issues related to race. I was so pleased to include my painting of my third great-grandmother, Sarah Mode, daughter of a free black man, Jesse Mode, who worked on the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. And then on Nov. 23 I will give another artist talk for the color theory exhibition.

July 2020

I have about ten paintings showing, starting this month, in my gallery in Salt Lake City, A Gallery. Upcoming: Two paintings in an exhibition, “Color Theory: Elements of Perception,” at Reynolds Gallery at Texas A&M University, and two paintings in an exhibition of women faculty in “Persist, Resist, Coexist” in the Wright Gallery, Texas A&M College of Architecture.

March 2020

Like everyone else, my life is in upheaval with the Covid pandemic. My classes are now all remote from my new studio in Woodland Hills, Utah. Two Life Drawing classes and Color Theory. After a crash course in remote technology, things are going surprisingly well, with the assistance of my live-in I.T. guy, Dennis. We are slowly moving into our new house. Can’t wait to get my hands on the new studio, to whip it into shape: Something more than a remote education space, but a real painting studio.

January 2020

After returning from Italy, we are buying a new home (nearby) with a spacious painting studio. It has five large windows with mountain and lake views. Dreams come true. I have a painting in the Come As You Are exhibition at Writ and Vision in Provo. Another project is that I am coordinating an Arts Enhancement grant through Texas A&M University, a collaboration with guest artist Ann Johnson, Houston-based multi-media artist. She is designing furniture for the Brazos Valley African American Museum in Bryan, Texas. More to come!

October 2019

I am in a beautiful town in Tuscany, Castiglion Fiorentino teaching 16 students from the Texas A&M Department of Visualization. We have an intense schedule of studio classes along with trips to the splendorous art sites of Italy. I am drawing hands and feet from the timeless sculptures of Italy from ancient times to 20thcentury, right along with the students. Such a pleasure. I have a painting in the invitational show “Certain Women” at Anthony’s Fine Art in Salt Lake City, through November 11. More work in another show “Come As You Are” at Writ and Vision in Provo, Utah in January. Dennis is loving teaching Audio Production at Texas A&M and will shortly be joining me here where we will together relish the ravishing vedute of Italy.

May 2019

I showed forty paintings at my exhibition at Dougherty Arts Center, Posture/Gestureover Dec/Jan. The show led to a commission for a large painting from the buyer of one of my smaller paintings. My paintings are currently in an exhibition at Imprint Gallery in Cannon Beach, Oregon, titled Reflective, exploring artworks of a contemplative, meditative nature. It’s a sort-of solo show with fifteen of my paintings through August 2019. The reception on May 4 included a Q&A with the artists. Such a pleasure to talk with the patrons and work with the delightful curator, Jane Brumfield. I jumped at the opportunity to show my work where I needed to attend the reception in a gorgeous beach town! The Oregon coast is an extravaganza of beauty like no other! Counting my lucky stars on that one. See more at: Imprint Gallery: Click Here

I continue to show with A Gallery (since about 2006) and am looking toward a solo show there in the not-too-distant future. What a great team to work with at the renowned “A” in Salt Lake City! A Gallery: Click Here

I am preparing for several group invitational exhibitions next fall and winter. At Texas A&M University in the Department of Visualization I am to be an Instructional Assistant Professor, teaching Life Drawing, Painting, Drawing, and Color Theory. Also next fall I will be teaching with Texas A&M for six weeks in Italy! But my biggest and best news is that my husband, the amazing Dennis Lisonbee, Professor of Digital Media, joined me at Texas A&M last semester, retired from Utah Valley University, and will be teaching part-time in Performance Studies at Texas A&M in fall semester 2019! We will continue to split our time between Texas and Utah. Keeping my calendar empty this summer so I can do what I love – make art.

December 2018

I recently showed figure drawings in Beautiful Figures, a pop up show in Bryan, Texas at Square One Center and Loft. Figure drawing exhibitions are relatively rare; it was a real pleasure to show alongside some stellar figger drawers in my local area. All are invited to my solo exhibition at Dougherty Arts Center in Austin, TX, 40 paintings showing through January 5, 2019. The opening reception is Wed., Dec. 12, 7 to 9 pm, with a yoga performance by Joy Scola at 7:45 pm. Joy is a yogini and yoga instructor whose movement and postures are poetic. Her Youtube Channel: Click Here

October 2018

Gearing up for my one-person exhibition at Dougherty Arts Center in Austin, Posture/Gesture: Paintings of Laurie Lisonbee, Dec. 8 to Jan. 6. All are invited to the opening reception on Wed., Dec. 12, 7 to 9 pm. A yoga-themed event will also take place at Dougherty on Wed., Dec. 19, their monthly “Date Night”, 7 to 9 pm. I spoke about my paintings at PechaKucha in Bryan, Texas in October. PechaKucha, meaning “chitchat” in Japanese, is an international organization which sponsors speakers who talk for 20 seconds each about 20 images. Sort of like TED talks with pictures. You can see my talk, Posture/Gesture :Click Here I was surprised that week that my talk was featured on their international website as Presentation of the Day. I also spoke at the Texas A&M College of Architecture Symposium on Oct. 29, Posture/Object/Gesture: Paintings of Laurie Lisonbee, where I again presented my artwork.

Somehow all of this fit in with the massive wildfire which threatened my home and community of Woodland Hills, Utah. I was there for an exciting weekend during the two-week evacuation watching fire, smoke, and helicopter drops. Thankfully, firefighters stanched the fire from reaching our homes.

I am delighted to begin showing work with Imprint Gallery in Cannon Beach, Oregon, starting in May 2019. Another new adventure - and what better place to deliver artwork to than the gorgeous Oregon coast? Check out my Instagram and Facebook pages, Laurie Lisonbee Artist for regular updates.

August 2018

Prepping to return to my teaching gig at Texas A&M. Some of you may know that I divide my time about 50/50 between Utah and Texas where I teach Painting and Life Drawing. In May I was the visiting faculty and Art Consultant on the “Leonardo Expedition” with Utah Valley University, producing live video broadcasts about Leonardo da Vinci from Florence, Milan, Amboise, and Paris. It was an unforgettable adventure to be up close and personal with all things Leonardo! The kid-friendly broadcasts can be seen on Facebook. UVU da Vinci Project, and at the website: Click Here

Last fall I had work in the invitational show, Sacred Spaces, at Springville Museum of Art. In July I had five small paintings in “Handed Down and Altered”, a collaborative project involving dozens of artists, at the Italian Center at Columbia University, NY. I also completed a commissioned painting of, you guessed it – hands - a marriage portrait of sorts. Now working on several new paintings constructed from antiques and other oddball objects. I bought most of these aged items in April at the spectacular Cole Antique Show, an annual extravaganza in central Texas. I am joyously repurposing them into paintings/wall art objects. These will be exhibited in a one-person show at Dougherty Arts Center in Austin in December 2018. All of my energies are focused on that exhibition between now and December. Click Follow to see my updates and posts on Facebook: Laurie Lisonbee Artist.

December 2015

My UVU students’ exhibition, Seeing Music, was a resounding success. Music students wrote compositions, then each of my design students made a piece of art based on one of the musical compositions. The music was played and artworks exhibited in a culminating event exploring synesthesia, in the Ballroom Gallery in the UVU Student Center. I plan to continue these collaborative, interdisciplinary endeavors with my classes every semester. They present such tantalizing possibilities for exploring creative expression between disciplines!

I was delighted that this year’s faculty show at Woodbury Art Museum featured my painting from last year’s show on the posters and promotional materials. My piece, titled Out of Hand, is crafted from an antique triptych-type frame, and includes found objects of rulers and drill bits. The central panel has a concave void of a sphere made of wood. More and more my work is featuring elements that are left as black and white drawings, juxtaposed with areas that are thoroughly rendered in oil paint.

Recently I showed new work in the fall exhibition at Springville Museum of Art. I also have new work at A Gallery in Salt Lake City. The next opening event is Friday, February 19, 2016, 6 to 9 pm. Hint: A Gallery always serves da best hors’doevres in the valley!

March 2015

I recently showed work in "Rebuilding Home" at the Refugee and Immigrant Center in Salt Lake City, an invitational exhibition exploring issues facing immigrants in Utah. My design students at Utah Valley University have just completed a collaborative project with UVU music composition students. We requested they provide us with original composition sound tracks. Each art student selected a piece of music and created an artwork based around the rhythms and emotional tone of the music. These synesthetic artworks and those of other design classes are exhibited in a show titled, "Seeing Music" in the Sorensen Student Center Commons Area, 2nd Floor Grande Ballroom through April 29. Opening reception April 17, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, appetizers and music. With SoundCloud technology, visitors will be able to listen to the music recording of each individual artwork on their smartphone or device as they view the exhibition. Students are jazzed as they get an early taste of working on an interdisciplinary project!

December 2014

I have new work in the Utah Statewide Annual ’14: Painting & Sculpture, exhibition at Rio Gallery in Salt Lake City, show closes January 9, 2015. Another one of my pieces is in the Springville Museum of Art through January 18, 2015. It is the painting of the hands of sculptor Lyuba Prusak, a prolific Czech-American sculptor who lived her final days in Utah. This painting was also recently shown in the invitational exhibition, Nation of Immigrants at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City, curated by Namon Bills in conjunction with the Smithsonian exhibition, Journey Stories, a traveling exhibition exploring the journeys of immigrants to the U.S.

October 2014

In my lecture at Ventura College I talked about living with your eyes open and then crafting that hyper-sensory experience into an art life. The audience of about 70 asked some astute questions and later I reviewed the work of some figure drawing students in their studio space. On Oct. 14 at Southern Utah University I coordinated the second annual Utah FATE conference (Foundations in Art Theory and Education, the national organization promoting excellence in higher education foundational art instruction). We had a good crowd of artists and educators, and an energized discussion about art foundations. You can see one of my recent paintings in the Utah Valley University Faculty Show at the Woodbury Art Museum in Orem. Opening reception Tuesday, Nov. 4, 6 pm.

August 2014

The exhibition at Ventura College Main Art Gallery is “Transcend to Transform, Paintings of Laurie Lisonbee”, featuring new work as well as artworks since of the last five years. I plan to be there to enjoy the ambience of one of my favorite Cal beachside towns and get an eyeful of ocean. There is an opening reception for the public on Thursday, September 4, 6 to 9 pm, and I will give a lecture in the gallery on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 7 pm. The exhibition continues through October 2. I am happy to resume teaching drawing at Utah Valley University on August 25. Summering in my mountain home and studio has been exhilarating!

May 2014

My little neck of the woods in Utah’s Wasatch has burst forth in all its green glory. Gearing up for the Ventura College exhibition in September. I have work in the Summer Solstice Show at A Gallery in Salt Lake City, with the opening reception on June 21, 6 – 9 pm. “A” is one of Utah’s best galleries and I have enjoyed a quality relationship with them since 2006. My newest circular painting is in a “frame” made from a massive antique wood pulley. I bought the pulley, then in one of those meaningful synchronicities, I came across the poem “The Pulley” by George Herbert, a 17th century Welsh poet. The painting evokes imagery from the poem. Most of my work is at the Marshall Gallery in Scottsdale over the summer. It is a pleasure to hear reports from some of you who have seen my work there.

January 2014

I am pleased to announce that I now have representation with the Marshall Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, while continuing my relationship with A Gallery in Salt Lake City as well. The Marshall shows some superb painters and sculptors, and I am happy to be among them. They are currently showing a body of my work. Next September-October 2014 I will be having a solo exhibition at the Ventura College Art Gallery in California (why couldn’t it have been scheduled for Jan/Feb when a trip out of Utah’s cold is urgently needed?!).

November 2013

Studio remodel in progress, boxes unpacked, our mountain views are everything my eyes could have hoped for. Painting works-in-progress are for the A Gallery Holiday Show and Nation of Immigrants, an exhibition in September 2014, curated by Namon Bills, at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City, Utah. My painting for the exhibition, of Czech American artist, Lyuba Prusak, is more than a portrait of her hands, it is an exploration of my own Bohemian roots.

July 2013

Upheaval. Unexpected. Welcome. We have moved to a home in the woods, something long-sought and finally fulfilled. These kinds of transitions are fraught with excitement and chaos. I have a spacious studio separate from the house. Painting is on hold for the moment while I prep the studio and do some remodeling. Several deer have visited. We are told of a recent bear-sighting on our property. Much work to be done amongst the maple and oak trees. Big windows give the feeling of being immersed in green. After unpacking multitudinous boxes, I hope to resume painting in the fall.

February 2013

There is a solo exhibition of my paintings at Peteetneet Museum and Cultural Arts Center, now through Feb. 27, Mon-Fri, 10 to 4. All are invited to the reception on Friday, Feb. 15, 7 -9 pm. The Hare Krishna Temple of our community will provide the food and a brief yoga demonstration at 7:30. I am happily teaching a Design class and two Drawing classes at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, delighted to find an eclectic mix of bright, visually astute students. I have work in the SUU faculty show at the Braithwaite Art Gallery, Feb. 7 – March 9. My work is also showing in an exhibition titled, The Figure Now, currently at Fontbonne University Fine Art Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri. I am pleased to have my work included among these very compelling figurative artworks, juried by Steve Huston, a stellar artist of the human figure.

November 2012

Two new paintings are in A Gallery’s annual holiday show through December 2012. I am also gearing up for my one-person exhibition at the Payson Cultural Arts Center in January and February (known as “Peteetneet Academy”, named for a mighty Indian chief who dominated our land). My painting “Shelled” won an award in Springville Museum of Art’s Spiritual and Religious Show, on exhibition through January 18, 2013. In winter 2013, I will be back to teaching Drawing and Design at Southern Utah University.

August 2012

See my artworks on YouTube: Laurie Lisonbee Video Gallery, thanks to my live-in tech support guy, a filmmaker/artist/visionary/musician, my muse, BFF and ever-inspiring and conspiring collaborator (see mustangsrock.com for more about him). I am tackling new technical concerns in my paintings, drawing from the live model and ever-hunting for just the right chair or object that I can transform into a piece of art; starting two new figurative paintings. On my daily walk in the woods, trying to get as much green into my eyes as possible before our mountains turn gray.

June 2012

I was delighted with the patrons’ suggested titles for my painting in Rio Gallery’s “Untitled Show” and chose from among them, “Hula Hands”. I couldn’t have named it better myself! Thank you to the unknown viewer who gave me the title. Two paintings are also currently exhibited in “Expressions West” through June 30 at the Coos Bay Art Museum in Oregon. Both paintings received awards.

A Gallery in Salt Lake City has the annual show of their gallery artists in “Summer Solstice” through the last week of July. Come to Gallery Stroll Friday, June 16, 6-9 pm and see the three new paintings I have in the show.

April 2012

Upcoming exhibitions: The “Untitled Show” at Rio Gallery in Salt Lake City, a group show April 6-30. The premise of the show is that the artworks are untitled and the public chooses the titles. I will also have two paintings in “Expressions West” at the Coos Bay Art Museum in Oregon April 27 – June 30. This juried show features recent paintings by artists of the western states. If you happen by the new City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City, Nordstroms recently purchased one of my paintings; it is “Circinate” in the womens section where all of the artworks are by Utah artists. Sorry guys, but it is hanging in the dressing room, so you won’t get to see it!

February 2012

My time continues to be frequently divided between Utah and California. In late summer I traveled to Maryland and Boston, and got an eyeful of art, architecture, ocean and woodlands. In the fall I had two paintings accepted into the Juried Salon of Logan Fine Art. Terra Nova Gallery’s small works exhibition included two of my paintings in December. I also showed work in the Springville Museum of Art’s Spiritual and Religious exhibition. On Monday March 5th at 6pm at Springville Museum of Art, I will be the guest artist for Community Night, showing and speaking about some of my paintings. Wintering in Utah: hunkering down, making improvements to my studio, and painting.

June 2011

Two of my paintings, "Circinate" and "Pose Without Number", are in the Freedom Festival Invitational through July 28 at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo, Utah. I like the word, “Circinate”, title of my most recent painting; it means to form a ring. I continue to work on circular human figure poses in circular formats along with other yoga contortions.

April 2011

“The circle is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a single form and in equilibrium,” said Kandinsky. I am painting in circles. Renaissance artists knew the dynamic capabilities of the tondo format. The painting surface, three feet across, is to my eye, at once a giant, static dot - and a race track with frantic visual movement around the edge. It is very satisfying to put the brush to this flat, benign shape - a universe in my studio.

March 2011

In February, for the second time, one of my paintings was featured on the cover of Catalyst Magazine, a Utah publication about healthy living (www.catalystmagazine.net).  The painting is Washing, framed in an antique, circular, cast-iron washstand top.  Catalyst is a great little rag with articles on health foods, artists, yoga, the environment, and other contemporary issues.

My painting, Crazy Eight, is currently showing in the Elmhurst Art Museum until March 30, in the National Art Premiere 2011, by the museum’s partner, the Elmhurst Artists Guild (www.elmhurstartistsguild.org).

January 2011

“Postures of Devotion” was my one-person exhibition at A Gallery in Salt Lake City in April. Since May I have traveled to Sedona, Yellowstone, Washington, D.C., Maryland, California, Mexico, Hawaii. My travel heightened my awareness of the impact of peoples and cultures, of miracles of healing and of the boundless visual feasts of art and nature. Over the summer I showed work in the Woodbury Art Museum, and in February one of my paintings will be in the Elmhurst Art Museum in Elmhurst, Illinois.