Lisa
Dragani comes from a family of artists. Her mother and grandfather
were both painters, and art has been an important part of her life
since she was a child.
“When
I was really little, my mom would always encourage me to go outside,”
Lisa says. “She would get big pieces of paper and acrylic paint and
have me go out in the yard and paint. I loved it, and she loved it
because it got me out of the house.”
In
high school Lisa took classes in graphic design. She originally
planned to focus on that when she came to James Madison University
four years ago, but she soon realized her real passion was for
painting.
“It's
a messy thing, but it can be clean, and it's a form you can play with
a lot. It's just the medium I'm most comfortable in.”
When
it comes to painting, Lisa has tried a little bit of everything. For
a few summers she painted pet portraits, getting several commissions
from local pet lovers who wanted to immortalize Rover. When she
paints for herself she enjoys doing still life's and landscapes. She
is inspired by abstract and surrealist artists, such as Salvador
Dali, although she herself isn't a big abstract painter. At JMU she
had the opportunity to try other art mediums, such as metal and
jewelry working, but nothing appealed to her the way painting has.
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| Lisa and her piece at the JMU Undergrad Art Show |
Lisa's
favorite piece got into the JMU Undergraduate Show this past spring,
a juried collection that allows students to showcase their work. For
this particular piece she put a bit of a twist on the traditional
canvas.
“I
went to the woodshop and had the teacher help me make a 3D base,”
Lisa says. “Kind of like a skate ramp, so the center is closest to
the wall, giving it a kind of panoramic feel. I did like a weird drip
oil painting of Richmond, with the reflection of Richmond on the
James River.”
This
painting was one of the few Lisa has been really satisfied with.
Pieces can take weeks, if not months, before they are finished, and
even then there have been pieces that Lisa has considered painting
over and starting again. But it is when she finishes a painting, and
is really satisfied with it, that Lisa is happiest.
But
painting doesn't always end with a perfect finish. Everything from
disliking a still life model to working on a tight budget can present
an obstacle for art.
“Honestly,
the hardest part for me is patience,” Lisa confesses. “I consider
myself a very patient person, but I've been working a lot with oils
and it takes a long time to dry. If you do something you don't like
you just have to sit there and take it. You have to realize it's
going to be on there for a while and you have to come back in a few
hours to fix it. Sometimes you're sitting there hating a mistake and
time goes by and you find yourself liking what you had hated, even finding things you love about it.”
Lisa
has a variety of plans now that she has graduated from JMU. She got a job working at a winery, hosting wine tastings part time, which
will give her time to continue painting and look for the kind of work
she really wants. Pet portraits were fun, but she doesn't want that
to be the only kind of painting she does. Websites such as Etsy allow
artists to sell their work independently, and Lisa plans to create an
account to share her pieces.
Lisa's
big dream would be to someday open up a coffee shop and bakery, where
she can showcase her own art as well as the work of local artists.
Baking is another one of her passions, and she hopes to go to
culinary school this fall and take some classes. Coffee, muffins, and
beautiful art? You can expect to find me writing in the corner with a
big cup of coffee. Until then, Lisa will continue with her painting,
and she can only get better.
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| One of Lisa's paintings that would be perfect for her coffee shop. |
