Lisa L Cantrell

 

Lisa grew up in the community of Bend, Oregon.  Her mother, Judy Cantrell was the President of the Central Oregon Arts Society for many years.   As a young girl, Lisa was "dragged around" Central Oregon, while her mother worked with other local artists to place their art for upcoming exhibits.  One of her favorite memories is when her mother worked to install artwork at the local courthouse after hours.  While Judy hung paintings, Lisa was practicing her cartwheels and handstands on her pretend balance beam in the hallways of the courthouse. 

 

Lisa and her sister Terissa would often go with their mother when she was sketching or painting.  Judy always brought extra supplies for the girls and encouraged them to be creative.  As Lisa got older, she was able to see how her mother struggled to make a living with her artwork, so she chose a more practical career path.  Lisa obtained a degree in business management and for most of her working life was an Investment Advisor.  

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In 2004, Lisa and her husband moved out of Northern California, and it was then that she decided to see if she "had inherited any of her mother's artistic talent."  She purchased some inexpensive watercolor supplies and began her first painting.  It was "horrible", so she threw it away, shoved the art supplies in a drawer and didn't touch them again for over three years."  In 2007, she checked out a book on watercolor from the local library and tried to copy what she saw.  That was the beginning of her watercolor journey and she never looked back.  

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Lisa’s artwork has been juried into and shown in galleries such as The Customs House Museum in Clarksville, The Prior Gallery in Columbia, TN, West TN Regional Art Center, Oak Ridge Art Center, Association for Visual Arts in Chattanooga, TN, and Chromatics 2nd Floor Gallery in Nashville.  In 2016 several of her pieces were picked up by Portfolio Arts Group, Ltd., who published art for major retailers’ worldwide.  In 2018, 2020 and again in 2022 Lisa's submissions were juried into the TN Watercolor Societies Bi-Annual exhibit and twice her paintings were selected to be included as part the traveling exhibit. In 2022, Lisa received the honor of becoming a Signature Member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society.

 

Lisa has had the privilege of participating in many local events throughout Middle Tennessee such as October Fest at the Hermitage where she was awarded Best of Show for Watercolor, Artisans in the Belfry and Fifty’s Forward Donelson Station, where Canyon Tree won “Best of Show”.  She has also won several first-place awards for both her graphite drawings and watercolors.  Lisa's paintings and commissions have been purchased by collectors who reside in Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, California and many other states throughout the US.

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Lisa currently resides in the quaint community of Watertown, TN with her two adorable senior kitties Kasey and Tucker.

 

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