Art studio

Tucked around the corner from Armondo's there is a window framing an artist at work. Lisa Lamoreaux recently became part of the unique blend of Renton Downtown.

Never content to work on one piece at at time, a view into the artist's studio will find Lisa at various stages of completion on six or seven canvases. The mixed media of sculpting gel, torn pieces of wallpaper or other paper pretties seen hanging from racks, become the layers of labor that go into Lisa's work before seeing her final paint brush touches. The studio had a open house and party two weekends ago, and many of Lisa's favorite clients came out to purchase from her walls full of art.

The past ten years have seen Lisa slowly leaving the corporate world to pursue her art full time. This year will see her in Oregon and Washington fine arts shows, keeping her occasionally on the road with her fine beauties.

There are whimsical colors and themes to be found in Lisa's work. The Chinese lanterns have become something she is well known for and the demand for them still keeps her expanding her vision this theme.


One earlier aspect of the artist's work were these lovely decor lights, made with a collage of colors and prints and trims.

Though Lisa is in her studio to work, do feel free to stroll on by and catch the artist in her element. Maybe peek your head in, if time allows, and see her latest work. Personally, I find it very exciting to have an artist studio in town. Kudos to Armondo for giving the DTR this cool, cultural dimension.

Lisa Lamoreaux Fine Art
www.lisalamoreaux.com
910 Houser Way South
206-660-6759

Artists Amongst Us!

They walk around, casually, looking like everyone else, but really they are talented painters taking their inspiration from everything around them, like the building site of a house up on Renton Hill(speak up if the painting on the left is of your home-to-be, Mike says that his work is for sale).
At our local little hang, Jet City, we have a couple of these talented folk, and sometimes we get to see the hard work and colorful expressions that they get up to when not shooting the shit, playing cribbage and drinking some hot joe with the rest of us.
Mike Ferguson makes his living as a painter and is featured in a few galleries about the area - American Art Co., Fountainhead Gallery, and the Howard Mandville Gallery to name a few. He says that he has been at it since he was a kid. His mother had a house full of paintings -"old, dead Swedish artists - I didn't even know who they were", but her collection surrounded him and must have filled his artist senses, because so many years later, he is still working at his craft.

Mike likes to play with paint and texture, building up layers using mat boards as palette knifes and sometimes house paint as cheap color to get a "nice, rough dramatic start you can play off". His color palette is not shy, but full of light and brightness. His landscapes are excellent renderings of nature, quite classic but for all of their color - but his story paintings are just plain whimsical. I love some of the topics - Popsicle, Thermos, or Get Out of My Room!

I feel like an explorer within the confines of a small island - Renton - and am enthralled by the little treasures that my search for blog topics can yield up to me. This is a rich territory that we live in, and I for one am out to explore it! And that is why I am Lady P of The Picaroon!