PSWC Magazine Spring 2021

Meet the Artist: Lisa Ober

Lisa Ober, PSA, IAPS-MC, HAC

by Laura Pollak, PSWC, PSA, IAPS, PSNC, SAS

I started following Lisa’s amazing works years before I met her. Her deft ability with glass and marbles left me wondering how this could possibly be done with pastels! Lisa loves visual puns, and her still life paintings are totally unique. Her portraits have such life and soul you could see deep into the subject’s personality.

I met Lisa in November of 2014, after she won a major award and posted it on Facebook. I congratulated her but at the same time realized that she was coming to North Carolina to teach at the Jerry’s Artarama just one and a half hours away. I asked Lisa in my Facebook post if I might meet her for lunch in Raleigh.

Laura Pollak (author) and Lisa Ober (artist)

We had such a wonderful time and the warmth and generosity Lisa exhibited bonded us as new friends.

Through the years, we’ve kept in touch and I’ve taken her workshop (a definite must!) and shared info and techniques (though she’s shared more with me than I with her!)

So, let’s chat with Lisa and find out a little more about her …

Laura Pollak (LP): Where were you born?

Lisa Ober (LO): I was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Lived there most of my life but I did go away to California and did a stint there and then to Fort Worth, Texas. But the running joke is you always come back to St Louis.

LP: Where did you go to college?

ing Edgy by Lisa Ober

LO-: Washington University in St. Louis for Graphic Design and Illustration. I loved painting and drawing obviously, but I started doing portraits for extra money. In high school I was delivering pizzas and working at hair salons, but most of my life I’ve been self-employed. When I was ready to graduate, I was looking at making very little per year in my field and

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Meet the Artist: Lisa Ober

Blue Vases by Lisa Ober

then realized I could do better doing the portraits instead. At first, I worked for a home improvements company and started in the customer service department. I had to be there at 7:00 a.m. each day and literally fell asleep on my desk at 11:00 a.m., not at my desk but on my desk! I’ve always been a latenight person, and that wasn’t very fair to them, so I started doing portrait art full time.

With that, I recognized that I’m a “serial entrepreneur.” I love trying new things. I’m sure I disappointed my parents when I said, “I think I’m going to color for a living.” I’ve tried several new businesses.

LP: Tell us about your childhood.

LO: Only child ‘til six and then there were three kids in one year. Three girls ... 500 diapers a week! I was not a popular kid, but other kids saw that I could draw, and they were impressed with that. When there was a project where you had to draw kids would stand around and compliment me.

LP: So did you take lessons as a kid or was your

talent innate?

LO: Oh, I wish that was true! My mom recognized that I had a serious interest in art, and at age ten she sent me to an adult watercolor class (I don’t know why they even let me in!). This was a well-known watercolor artist, and I took lessons every weekend. Then in middle school, I got accepted into a high school program at Washington University (where I ended up attending college) in their art department. It was a summer program that was for high school student, and I don’t know how I got in. They covered the basics of oil painting and some drawing basics. It was fantastic. It gave me a preview as to what it was like to be a serious artist … making your own canvasses, stretching them and so on.

Just as an aside, the professor who taught it was Stanley Tasker. He was the most fabulous teacher for that summer program, and he was also my drawing teacher.

In college, he called me the ‘renderer’. It was not a compliment, and he was right. He meant that you’re

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so confined by what you see. But if you can only be what you can be, then you might as well just be the very best!

LP: I remember seeing one of your marble paintings and thinking who can do this with pastels?

LO: You know what’s really funny is that those works are really precise but the rest of my life is NOT ORGANIZED or disciplined!

LP: In your family did you have any other artistic influences?

LO: In my family, my grandmother was a self-taught portrait artist. She did a ton of portraits.

LP: Was she alive when you were growing up? Did she take care of you?

LO: She didn’t take care of me, but I visited her often, and she had a studio in her house where she painted. I thought I would have died and gone to heaven to have a room like that. She would teach me things and let me try her supplies. She was great! And she was really quite good for not having decades of experience. What sent me over the edge in the portrait world was my mom had our portraits done when we all turned 5 years old. I remember sitting for that thing. It was pastel, and I could not believe someone could have so many different pieces of colored things that I thought at the time were chalk. In those days, it was a black and white photo that she was working from, then I would come in and she would do a color study. When we got the portrait, I would sit and stare at that it trying to figure out how she did it for years! I kept looking to see where she put

her marks and the colors she used.LP: Do you still have it?LO: Yes, I do!

LP: Tell us about your schooling and how it impacted your career and if your parents were OK with you becoming a Fine Artist.

LO: Well my parents wanted me to get a degree in something else to fall back on, but they were always encouraging … always! Both of them!

LP: So you talked about watercolors and oils but when did you first get into pastels?

LO: There was a guy who had a portrait booth at the mall. I thought he was spectacular, and he really was! It was a Friday night, and I was just 15 years old. I asked him so many questions, and he patiently answered every one of them. I asked him a barrage of questions, “What kind of paper are you using? What brand of pastels are you using? Where do you buy them? What colors do need? What do I do first? How do I sketch it out?“ I went home that Friday night and begged my parents to get me the starter pastel set and paper that this guy had recommended. All day Saturday, I tried to do a portrait of a model out of a magazine. I thought I did a pretty good job,

Sweet Escape by Lisa Ober

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and looking back, I probably did do a pretty good job, because Sunday I took it to him for critique. I wanted to get tips from him, I wanted to have him tell me where I went wrong. This guy was amazing (and to this day I wish I could find him). He told me how to change the temperature of something, with a light hard pastel over top of what I had already done with Rembrandt pastels. He gave me a trick for highlights in eyes (which involved licking a corner of a white conte to get a really white sparkle in the eyes), and all these tricks that I have used my whole life until I switched away from Canson paper.

I was so encouraged after that. I think he was so surprised and shocked that someone who asked all those questions took it to heart, went home and came back with a painting that actually looked like a human being. That would have been in 1980!

The only pastels you could find then were Prismacolors, Rembrandt, and Carre. That was it. Look at what we have now! It’s the best time on the planet and in the history of mankind to be a pastel artist. I’m truly in love with pastels. I love oil painting, but pastels are my favorites.

Dog Portraits by Lisa Ober

LP: Do you still paint in oils?

LO: I do! I do a lot of corporate portraits and that keeps me busy in oil. For whatever reason, it’s still difficult to convert people to pastel’s permanence.

LP: Who in your art career has influenced you the most?

Child portraits by Lisa Ober

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Standing Room Only by Lisa Ober

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Meet the Artist: Lisa Ober

LO: I wish I could name some famous people, but it’s really the unsung artists. People I come in contact with who have been willing to share their techniques and ideas the materials that they use. It’s those people along the way, the ones I mentioned to you. The Davids and Stanleys of this world. People like that are the ones that have influenced me the most.

LP: So you don’t really have a favorite artist?

LO: I really don’t. I look at a broad spectrum of art and borrow and learn from each of those artists. A little bit of everything. Mix it all up.

LP: Do you still take workshops?

LO: I would still take workshops, I just haven’t. Mostly it’s a time issue. I took an online course by David Gray, and it was an oil course. He’s a portrait painter, and I did it for the purpose of seeing what his approach was like. What colors did he use in his palette? Things like that appeal to me more now since I just can’t squeeze the time in.

LP: What are your favorite things to draw or paint? What makes you happy?

LO: I like visual and verbal puns. I like to add an element of humor. Something a little clever hopefully.

LP: Where do you primarily show your work? At your own gallery or elsewhere as well?

LO: Only at The Galleries at Heartland Art Club (formerly O.A. Gallery) in Kirkwood Missouri.

LP: Do you have a favorite substrate?

LO: Yes, I do, UArt 400! I adore UArt. The most versatile, most reliable and consistent texture on the planet. It grabs pastel so well. I don’t need to worry about the painting staying on my paper. It’s so durable and forgiving, and I love it for what I do. I cannot imagine a better paper. It’s a great company.

LP: Do you have a favorite size you like to paint in?

LO: I typically paint in 18 x 24 on Uart 400 that I have mounted.

LP: Do you mount it or do you have a framer mount your paper?

LO: I have a framer mount it with a heat process.

LP: Which publications have you been featured in? Some of the highlights.

LO: Southwest Art, American Art Collector, Pastel Journal, International Artist, The Encyclopedia of Pastel Techniques by Judy Martin, plus illustrations for other books

LP: What are some of your designations?

LO: PSA (Pastel Society of America, Signature), IAPS MC (International Association of Pastel Societies Master Circle), HACS ( Heartland Art Club Signature)

Art is the Best Medicine by Lisa Ober

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Odd Ball by Lisa Ober

LP: What are some of your non-art related hobbies?

LO: I love to try new restaurants. Clearly food is one of my hobbies, and I’m a people person so being at restaurants does double duty.

LP: Are you having trouble with COVID-19 and not going to restaurants?

LO: Our restaurants have not closed down so we still go, but we are very careful.

LP: Are either of your kids artistically inclined?LO: Nope. Must not be genetic.LP: What you tell beginning artists as best advice?LO: 1.) Buy the best materials you can.

2.) Take as many classes and workshops as you can because that’s where you pick up techniques, tips, tricks, and supply ideas, not just from the workshop instructor but from the other participants.

3.) Get involved in a pastel or art organization so you can be around other artists.

4.) If you want to be good … treat it like a job.5.) PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!6.) Do not be afraid to make mistakes.LP: Where in the world would you like to go paint?

LO: Might be nice to head to Europe and paint in a different environment. And Hawaii would be nice too. Actually, any place over 30°F!

LP: What advice woulds you give your younger self?

LO: Work harder. Have discipline. The regret of my life is not applying myself when I was younger, and I don’t think I went the extra mile then.

LP: What would you want someone to know about you?

LO: As a backdrop, most people are filled with

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Meet the Artist: Lisa Ober

desire to be an artist, but someone has discouraged them. Or they want a second career in the art field, but they are too afraid to pursue it. That’s so heartbreaking for me to see. But those people make the best artists, because they have decades of practical experience behind them so they are way ahead of a young person. They’re more disciplined because they’ve worked or raised families, and they absolutely can become a great artist! Even though it feels like they’re starting late, they can catch up quickly!

LP: When you are doing a portrait, what are you trying to capture?

LO: First, for likeness and then for “life,” so it looks alive. Most of that is in the eyes. If you get the eyes right, everything else looks good. Does it look like the person, and do you know who it is? And then the eyes will tell you if it’s accurate or not.

LP: Do you still love doing the portraits?

LO: I LOVE IT! I learn something new every day. Every day. You think you’re going to arrive, but you never arrive. There’s always something new. For example, in the last few years, I started using a new type of pastel to shift temperature, and I don’t know why I didn’t do it before.

LP: Which one is it?

LO: Caran D’ache Cubes. I love them! They’re subtle and with a soft touch and can make all the difference in the world. Like in the orange of a cheek. Especially

if I’m trying to be fairly faithful to the tone of the skin. A tiny shift against that orange with its compliment can make all the difference in the world! Laura, I would like to paint your hair: it’s such a good color!

LP: Yes, my hair is pretty bright! LOL. Did you buy a whole set of those cubes?

LO: Oh, I’m so bad! This is a "Laura (Pollak) Thing,” What would Laura Buy? (Known to her friends as WWLB.) I went to a trade show, and they had a full display of ten cubes per color. When they were packing up to leave, I asked if I could buy all of them, including the display case!

LP: Do you have a favorite pastel?

LO: I have two full sets of Unisons. They are great workhorses, and I have the Terry Ludwig pastels. I’ve been enjoying Mount Vision for portraits, too.

LP: What does your day look like?

Upon Closer Inspection by Lisa Ober

LO: I try to wake up before noon. Then, I meet with clients, answer email and phone calls, run errands, sometimes spend a day at the gallery … until around 6 :00 in the evening. Then I take a break. From about 7:00 p.m. until around 4:00 a.m. I paint. Then I do it all over again the next day!

Author’s note: Chatting with Lisa gave me such a boost on a gray winter day! She is so full of enthusiasm and sunshine. I’ve taken 2 of her workshops and must say that if you find her teaching you have to go! Besides being a wonderful teacher she is one of the nicest people I know and truly a brilliant artist!

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Breakthrough by Lisa Ober

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