Artist Spotlight: Lisa Goesling

Group of Columbines

Chicago artist, Lisa Goesling works in the unusual media of scratch art.  It is subtractive drawing, where the artist removes ink from a soft, smooth surface to reveal the white underneath.  The scratching can be done with a variety of exacto knife blades or wire tools.  Once the image has been developed, the surface can be colored with inks, watercolors or acrylics.  Lisa found scratch art through a cancer diagnosis in 2006, where she needed the rest and had the space to work hours on end. She shares, "The idea that adversity teaches us to turn the negative into a positive is a great analogy for transforming these black boards into thriving works of art."

Lisa places color into her pieces thoughtfully, sometimes over the whole work and sometimes sparingly, to tell more of a story about the piece.  She uses a water-soluble ink and needs brushes that hold their shape for both mixing her color and applying it.  One of her favorite brushes is Black Gold, because it keeps it's integrity, and the hairs stay together when applying fluid to a smaller area.  Part of Lisa's exquisite work is the fine detail she is able to accomplish, and in that, the right tools make all the difference.

Lisa's work will be in several upcoming exhibits next year and she will be the artist in residence at the Studios of Key West in March 2016, teaching a workshop on scratch art using Scratchbord on March 14th.  You can keep up with Lisa's busy exhibition schedule on her website:  Lisagoesling.com.

Keep Painting, 
Karyn 

For more brush information, check out the Dynasty Brush website.