About the Artist: FRED LISAIUS received a B.F.A. with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, R.I.) in 1981. He also studied at the Pratt Institute in New York.

 

LISAIUS works from a large collection of botanical books, collected insects, bird field guides, and his own photographs. His paintings are the fantasies of a city dweller, offering a dream of escape from humdrum reality to a savage and yet enchanting realm. In his paintings, species often are invented or altered (and thus can appear to be familiar yet foreign), and lush environments are composed into organic patterns. His visionary paintings captivate the viewer with the lushness of their plant and animal life painted with incredible detail and precision. According to the artist, inspiration for these paintings comes from the endless process of evolution, the effects of genetic engineering, and the Luminist Period of American painting.

 

LISAIUS' creative process involves numerous sketches prior to painting, and several layers of glazing to produce the intended subtleties of light and nuances of color in the finished work.