Six years ago, Lisa Sanditz put down her paintbrush and picked up a crisp copy of
the New York Times. Curling up on the couch in her upscale painting studio in Tivoli,
N.Y., Sanditz opened the paper to no page in particular. It was what she saw next
that spun her art career in a whole new direction. And she’s never looked back since.
The article was about the single city industries in China, and it featured a place
called Sock City. The article said that Sock City alone produces enough pairs of socks
for every person in the world to have at least one and a half pairs.
“When I read it, I thought to myself, ‘I have to go see this. This is my next piece of
art,’” she says during a telephone interview.
Sanditz says that traveling is what inspires her to paint.
“I travel, I take pictures on location and I make drawings. It’s my way of deciding
how to approach a new idea,” she says.
And as soon as she gets that idea, she she’s got to write it down instantly. Otherwise,
it gets scrambled among the hundreds of other ideas floating through her overly
active brain.
“I often make a little drawing on a piece of paper, like a receipt, and it ends up in the
bottom of my purse. If we were together, we could look in my purse and we’d
probably find something in there,” she says.
Sanditz’s ideas can spring from anywhere as far as China to right in her own
backyard. But for almost a decade now, she’s shifted her focus to painting periphery,
like landscape and the outdoors.
“The most recent work that I’ve been dealing with the last eight years centers
around the natural environment,” she says.
In her Oct. 28 speech to a group of aspiring artists at UT, Sanditz flashed a picture of
one her proudest artworks onto the big screen. Entitled “Frito Lay Factory,” the
painting mixes two of her favorite themes to paint, which are food and farming.
“I just fell in love with the idea of making a painting that resembles that orange
Cheetos color. I also like how it combines food with a desolate landscape,” she says.
Sanditz’s passion for painting periphery stems from her childhood in a town just
outside St. Louis.
“I grew up in a pretty agricultural area,” she says. “But I’ve moved around a lot since
then. When I make a piece that relates to my hometown, I always feel satisfied. It’s
like I’m reconnecting to that place.”
But when Sanditz began focusing on periphery, she found herself yawning out of
boredom when trying to create new pieces.
“When I started thinking about how to paint farms and grass, I said to myself, ‘Wow,
that’s a lot green rectangles. How else can I tackle this subject?’” she says.
To keep things interesting, Sanditz imagines her paintings from multiple
perspectives and tries to see which angle does the painting justice.
“When I started making landscapes, I refused to work with just one horizon line and
one focal point,” she says. “When you paint, you don’t just view the image as if you’re
looking at it through a camera.”
Besides agriculture, Sanditz also enjoys painting themes such as cave art,
renaissance and romance.
“Sometimes I work on cave paintings and then think, ‘Hmmm, cave paintings. I’m
pretty sure that topic has been covered before. Fresh idea, Lisa,’” she says.
Branching out is the best way that Sanditz invents these new ideas. In her spare
time, she enjoys getting out and meeting new people. These encounters often spark
inspiration for a new piece. Michael Liener, founder of Aurobora Press, became
familiar with Sanditz during her time at the gallery in San Francisco. He says Sanditz
got much of her inspiration from the outdoors.
“I noticed she often took walks outside and found inspiration in the nature around
her,” he says. “It’s amazing how her work captures the changing environment.”
Sanditz’s open mind is what often gets those creative juices flowing in her brain.
“I’m a social person. Working in an isolated studio is counterintuitive to my
personality. So I’ve got to take a break and experiment with new things,” she says.
But her adventurous spirit did not make the path to success an easy one. She
describes a point in her career when she began to experience doubts about herself
and her career.
“At one point I began thinking, ‘Okay, maybe I don’t have to visit places. Maybe I
don’t need to work with acrylic paint. Maybe I can just look at a picture of something
and paint from that,’” she says.
But like any other artist, Sanditz says that she too is far from perfect. And it’s all too
often that a finished painting falls short of the grand image that was first depicted in
her mind.
“Some of my paintings didn’t turn out necessarily how I imagined. These were all
good ideas going into it,” she said. “Sometimes I just have to accept it and say, ‘Okay.
It’s different, but it’s fine. It’s good.’”
Sanditz’s artwork has received a great deal of attention in a short period of time.
Just two years after receiving her master’s from Pratt Institute in 2001, Sanditz had
her very first solo show in New York. Since then, her paintings have been featured at
galleries across the country, including CRE Gallery in New York and ACME Gallery in
Los Angeles.
Liener said that one of Sanditz’s most admirable pieces is called “Fantastico.”
Created in 2006, the painting is a colorful collage that incorporates a variety of
brush strokes and abstract patterns.
“The title is no misnomer,” Liener says. “The piece truly is fantastic.”
In her spare time, Sanditz enjoys inspiring young artists by sharing her knowledge
and encouraging students to reach for the gold, no matter how hard the journey may
be. Besides creating art, Sanditz is also an assistant professor at Bard College in
Hudson, New York.
“It’s my passion not only to paint what comes to my own mind, but to enhance the
minds of students and push them to their full potential,” Sanditz says.
As if painting and teaching are not enough to keep her hands full, Sanditz also likes
to dabble in literature. Her catalog “Sock City” features her exotic travels and
experiences in China. It was published in 2008, at the same time of her exhibition in
New York.
So how does she do it all? She claims it’s a crafty combination of talk radio,
Limonada soda and beef jerky. She says these three things help her focus even when
completing the most difficult art piece. A strange combination, but hey, whatever
works.
“You’ve got to invent little tricks to keep you going,” she says.
A painter, a teacher, a traveler and most importantly, a go-getter. These attributes
may seem disconnected, but somehow Sanditz manages to embrace all four them.
Her witty sense of humor keeps you on your toes, and her profound love for art is
enough to make even the clumsiest of hands pick up a paintbrush. But her
determination is what paints the most beautiful picture of all.
“As an artist, it’s those humbling moments that you live for. When you finally finish a
piece and are can say, ‘Yes. I did it,’” she says.
Budget Line:
Get an inside look on painter Lisa Sanditz’s art career, travels and passion for
painting.
Sources:
Lisa Sanditz- American landscape painter
Phone: 845.758.6822
Email: info@lisasanditz.com
Dates contacted: via phone 10/29/13
Info: Sanditz discussed her passion for art and the traveling opportunities
her art has given her
Michael Liener- Founder of Aurobora Press
Phone: 415.546.7880
Dates contacted: via phone 11/12/13
Info: Liener talked about the uniqueness of Sanditz’s art that was featured at
Aurobora Press Art Gallery in San Francisco and a about what inspires her
work
Invisible Sources/Websites Used:
Lisa Sanditz
URL: lisasanditz.com
Data accessed: 10/26/13
Info: Obtained information on Sanditz’s art exhibitions, her different pieces,
and her background
Smithsonian
URL:http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/innovators/sanditz
.html
Data accessed: 10/27/13
Info: Learned about Sanditz’s past and what inspires her art
ACME Gallery
URL: http://www.acmelosangeles.com/artists/lisa-sanditz/
Data accessed: 10/27/13
Info: Familiarized myself with Sanditz’s exhibition at ACME Gallery and the
different pieces she featured there