Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Engelbrecht.
Hi Lisa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been an artist my whole life. I loved drawing and painting when I was young and I used to sell handmade watercolor greeting cards when I was in high school. I majored in Commercial Art at Endicott College in Beverly, MA. My first job out of college was as a technical illustrator in Boston, and I loved drawing in pen and ink. I then worked as a graphic designer and art director for Parker Brothers and Hasbro Games. In 2001, I started my graphic design company called Creative Sparks Design, specializing in logo design and marketing materials for small businesses as well as graphics and package design for game companies. In 2009, I started a photography business called Creative Sparks Imagery with my husband, Jim. We began doing international photography assignments for many travel companies including Viking, Vantage and Tauck World Discovery. We also photographed weddings, portraits, and commercial work. We were the official photographers for the Miss USA state pageants in MA, ME, and NH for 12 years. In 2020, we moved to Florida full-time, and I launched my fine art photography business. I currently display and sell my work at The Hub on Canal gallery, the Artists’ Workshop gallery and the Riverpark Terrace restaurant in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. I love photographing local scenery, nature, flowers, and portraits. My husband and I are still doing travel photography with assignments in Europe and the US, and we sell stock photography through Danita Delimont, an online photography agent.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being self-employed is terrific but comes with challenges, like needing a steady income, buying health insurance and finding new clients. Word of mouth has been my best marketing method but it takes time. One of the hardest aspects of being self-employed is not having a steady income.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I sell my fine art photography of local scenery, nature, and flowers as metal prints, canvas prints, and matted paper prints. I love to create custom pieces for people. I also sell blank notecards of my work using fine art paper and archival ink. I am a member of The Hub on Canal, the Artists’ Workshop, and the Daytona Art League. In the past 4 months, I have traveled to London, Paris, and Japan on photo assignments. In December, we spent 10 days in Europe photographing the Christmas markets for Tauck World Discovery.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m constantly trying to create new images to see what people are looking for. I have to sell enough each month to cover my rent and other expenses to make it all viable. It’s always a risk to invest in new prints for my gallery wall in hopes that someone will love the piece and buy it. I also started teaching Lightroom and Photoshop to local photographers as another income stream. This was a risk because I had never taught before. Luckily, I learned that I enjoy teaching people. It’s very rewarding to show other photographers how to make their images come alive and be more impactful.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.Creativesparksimagery.com
- Instagram: Lisa_FineArtPhoto
- Facebook: Creative Sparks Imagery
Image Credits
All images are mine, copyright Creative Sparks Imagery.
