Lisa Kyle
As far back I can remember, I have loved to draw and paint. I always wanted to be a painter. Even when I began practicing architecture, I studied painting. I took art classes wherever my husband and I lived - at SMU when we lived in Dallas, at the Savannah College of Art when I taught architecture there, and at the Maryland Institute College of Art when we lived in Towson, Maryland. More important to my art progress, I studied privately with many artists, including Scott Christensen, Jill Carver and Lori Putnam. My dream was always to paint full-time, one day, some day.
I spent many years as a residential architect, squeezing in time to paint whenever I could: early mornings before heading into the office, or on the weekends after finishing chores. In 2006, I had a scary awakening when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I realized that a lot of those clichés are true: life is short, life can turn on a dime, you should follow your dreams, and there really is no time like the present. After finishing cancer treatments in 2007, I began to make a plan: to live somewhere beautiful and to paint for a living.
I now know that dreams can come true.
It took a few years for my husband and I to get here, but we moved to Maine in 2016! We live in an old 1850 farmhouse that we renovated and restored, doing most of the work ourselves. Like most old houses, it is a work in progress, a never-ending project. In 2017, I began to paint full time and have relished every moment of it! I love exploring the area around our home in Mid-Coast Maine to find inspirations to paint! I love hiking and sketching in Acadia. I love trying to capture the energy an emotion of a landscape in paint. I love knowing that I am finally where I am supposed to be.
I begin most paintings by sketching, and often paint plein-aire, on site. I have learned that I am a fair-weather painter though! In winter, I paint in my studio while listening to music from a vast collection of CDs. For inspiration for my paintings, I use field sketches, plein-aire paintings and photographs. Whether they are created in the field or in my studio, I try to capture the beauty of the natural world:
the quality of the light,
the simple yet compelling forms of the vernacular architecture,
the subtle colors of the meadows,
the magic at sunset
the ceaselessly changing blues of the ponds, rivers and ocean.
The more that I paint, the more convinced I am that ART IS IMPORTANT - quite simply, it feeds our soul. My calling is to lift up nature by creating beautiful objects so that others can live with the beauty and serenity of nature.
I am excited to help you bring some moments of wonder into your home!
