Lisa Barbero’s small scale repeats are constructed from simple graphic elements, in a palette of soft pink, grey and mustard, often with lots of bright, lemony yellow brightening and bringing it all together. It’s clean and simple and happy; there’s a lovely sense of gentleness and joyful innocence that pervades all her work and lifts it up. But Lisa is not only a pattern designer, she is also a very successful illustrator, whose work has appeared in television and has been featured all over the web.
lisa barbero – buttermilk sky 1400
lisa barbero – cal and lily 100
It was just 4 years ago in 2010 that Lisa Barbero quit her office job and decided to make her living as an artist. It’s been a long time coming.
“I decided I was an artist when I was in kindergarten and it took me about 27 years to finally believe it.”
lisa barbero – cal and lily 600 detail
After marrying straight out of high school and then spending years of moving around the world as a military wife, Lisa let the responsibilities of life direct her. For years she suffered from self doubt, and during this time, even though she took the step up to art school at one point, she didn’t stick at it.
Her first marriage ended, and in 2009 she met her soul-mate (now husband) who helped her to realize that “I am damn good enough and I always was.” Life sometimes throws it at you in buckets, and after quitting her job to spend every day in the studio, Lisa found she was pregnant with her son. So, she launched her Etsy store selling her illustrations. Shortly after, her work was featured in an Etsy blog post, and the rest is history.
lisa barbero – ronnie and delia 700
lisa barbero – ronnie and delia 1100
She describes her work, “I dig on raw line and the unexpected, and infuse my work with modern color, original typography, and old fashioned hand drawn imagery. The end result is art with hints of romance, whimsy, inspiration, and lots of soul.”
“I enjoy the whole art making process and can’t see myself ever living something other than a handmade life. It’s important to me to do something different; to be inspired by my life, my environment, and the work of others, then make something completely unique that can inspire others in turn. I like being a part of that endless creative cycle.”
“It is my hope that my work might inspire others in rather small, tender, human ways. That sounds deep, I know, but what I mean is that I hope my work gives people the sense of being comfortable with imperfections and vulnerability that tends to make most of us rather uncomfortable most of the time. I feel that making art helps me to transcend those fears and allows a mindset that is willing to love and be loved as I am as a perfectly imperfect, fragile human being. I can only cross my fingers that those who view my work will get a hint of those same feelings. But I’ll settle for an occasional giggle or a smile.
“I see this beautiful, imperfect perfection all around me so these days I find inspiration to be in very plentiful supply. It’s everywhere; nature, color combinations, lines, children’s doodles, the sweet cream floating in my morning coffee, the M mark on my cat’s forehead, and especially in everyday people. Inspiration is literally always under my nose and I have a gazillion ideas on a weekly basis. Finding the time to make them into reality is another story altogether.
‘I think inspiration is all about how you look at the world. If we can be open both mentally and emotionally, the world begins to look much more inspiring . If our vision is one of possibilities as opposed to fixed concepts, inspiration is never in short supply. In my mind, that vision of possibilities is more commonly called hope. And the message it brings is
“You Can Do Anything!”
lisa barbero – geometric getaway 1300
You can find more about Lisa and her work on her website, www.lisabarbero.com, and more patterns in her Spoonflower shop.
{Oh, and something quirky about Lisa? She’s also a writer of sci-fi romance, under a pseudonym.}