Featured Artist: Lisa Cheney-Jorgensen

Published by Armand Frasco on Tagged Uncategorized

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I am a Graphic Designer by trait. Up until recently, I only drew and painted when it was required for a job or requested by a family member. Somewhere between working full time and being a mother full time, I lost time for me and "my" art. I missed drawing for the pure sake of drawing.

It just so happened that at the beginning of this year I started a new sketchbook. With no intentions of starting a visual journal at the time, I started filling the first few pages with some portraits of family and friends. Then on Jan. 1, while watching a football game with my husband, I drew the first page of my journal and added a bit of my memories from the evening so I wouldn’t forget… The next day another object and idea jotted down… And so on…

At that time, I had sent away for the book "The Creative License" by Danny Gregory. When it arrived I tried some of the ideas in the book to get myself to loosen up a bit. My "style" has always been very controlled, tight and above all time consuming. I knew that if I was going to continue to "draw a little each day" then I needed to draw faster. So I abandoned my beloved pencils and took up the waterproof Pitt pens.

Using the pen for the past 5 months has very enlightening. It has forced me to accept imperfections in my drawings. It was the fear of imperfections that has always prohibited me from drawing regularly in the past. Adding color always seem to make the drawings come alive, as well as helping me to look past the imperfections. I use Winsor & Newton traveling watercolor set and often times touch the drawing/painting up with Prismacolor colored pencils.

When I first started my journaling I debated including my thoughts on paper. I have always been teased about my illegible handwriting and I had a fear of writing my thoughts on paper. Who would really care what I think or have to say…hmm. Can’t the picture say it all? With the gentle urging from some new friends on Flickr, I continued to include my thoughts and memories in my often illegible handwriting. Now after 5 months my family and extended family are all interested in my journal. My husband has also asked that I make copies for both of our children so they don’t fight over them later on… Who would have thought…?

It is very rewarding to go back and actually see and read what was going on in our lives. Those things we take for granted and forget too soon. I am not sure how long the "habit" will last, but for now I am enjoying the process and miss the days that I can’t add a new entry into my visual journal.

Lisa Cheney-Jorgensen
Boise, Idaho

Lisa Cheney-Jorgensen is an artist and graphic designer living in Boise, Idaho. A graduate of Boise State University with a BFA in Graphic Design and minor in Illustration, she has 13+ years of experience working as a graphic designer and art director for local agencies. Her experience includes traditional print media (direct mail, promotional, POS, POP, corporate identity, direct response, packaging, and illustration) and some web design. Recently she went out on her own and now enjoys freelancing and consulting from her home office. Her client list includes local advertising/design agencies, start up-companies, large corporations, and the University.