A little bit about me...

Lisa Beerntsen lives and paints in Graton, California. She and her husband, fellow artist Tony Speirs moved to Sonoma County from the East Bay in 2002.

Lisa got her MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1991, and her BFA from California College of Arts & Crafts (now CCA) in 1983. She has exhibited her paintings on both coasts, recently at Arches Gallery in Healdsburg, & previously at HANG & Meridian Galleries in San Francisco.

Lisa has been an adjunct art instructor at the Santa Rosa Junior College for over 10 years, where she teaches classes in color, painting & drawing. She has previously taught courses at the San Francisco Art Institute, California State University, Stanislaus, & the Universities of Maine & Massachusetts.

Statement for current show: "Of Plants and Pattern"

In general, my work proceeds from one piece to the next in response to the art-making process itself, much more than it is driven by subject matter or narrative.  That said, my underlying inspiration generally goes back to nature, most specifically the botanical world, as an endless source of fascination. Whether they be plants in the wild, or in my garden, or more recently indoor plants, plant forms and their parts, (whether abstracted or more realistic) frequently emerge. I’m interested also in the human desire to see and create pattern.  I sometimes weave this more structured regularity together with the more random organic qualities of plants.

I’ve somewhat recently begun to work in ceramics as well, and create plant-like outdoor spires (totem-pole style), that in turn have inspired such forms to appear in my paintings. One thing leads to another.

In some of the most recent work in this show, I’ve taken great pleasure in re-visiting re-working, and repurposing earlier works on paper. It seems to harken to a concept of impermanence in the flow of life and art. There is a phrase that sometimes goes through my mind in the studio that I’ve attributed to Picasso, though I can’t actually seem to track it down. It goes “I don’t imitate nature, I work like her.”  Though this sounds kind of pretentious, and certainly does not always apply, I like the sentiment.