Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Lofton.
Hi Lisa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Greetings from Murray Hill and the Urban Core of Jacksonville! My name is Lisa Lofton, and I am married to “Captain use to be,” a.k.a. my husband Scott. He is a native of Jacksonville and can tell you what used to be on every street corner of our fair city, Jacksonville, FL. We met at the University of Florida. I was an architecture student who loved drawing, painting, math, and weekend trips to Lawtey for fresh strawberries to blend into daiquiris. He loved his vintage 69 Buick and concerts.
We married and made Jacksonville Beach our home. In the mid-1980s, woods could be found from our backdoor near the Beaches Hospital to JTB. South Beach Parkway was a dirt road used by locals. We soon had a little boy, and we loved our sleepy little beach town and only crossed the ditch (the Intracoastal waterway) to do our 8-5 routine for Corporate America. Once our boy was grown and flown, my husband and I decided we were in a rut, so we decided to downsize to a cute little bungalow in the Murray Hill area.
The neighborhood has a little art center. I decided to check it out. I soon found myself surrounded by art folk, an interesting breed encompassing a beautiful variety of humans. They share their time, talent, and wisdom with anyone interested in making. I found myself falling back in love with the act of creating. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. It reminded me of my time painting with my mom and sister. We are an artsy bunch, my family. My new art friends were seasoned professionals and shared so much with me. I was encouraged to join the Jacksonville Artists Guild and The Art Center Cooperative, Inc. So, I did. Shout out to Pat J, Cookie, and Annelies!
Once you understand design principles and develop specific skills through practice, practice, and more practice, you can start to explore your individuality. I have always loved pop art and illustrations with high contrast. So, I began painting things I found in Jacksonville, from beat-up Bob’s Barricades on Main Street to the Grand Dame of Trees, “Treaty Oak,” in bright, expressive ways, after years of art exhibitions, exhibit curating, receptions, art board of directors, and an immersion into the Jacksonville Art Scene. I was selling art. At the same time, my mother slowly left us all behind. She had developed Alzheimer’s, and we all were losing her a bit at a time. I found myself driving from Jacksonville to Brooksville often. I’d love to see the billboards telling me the distance to the Orange Shop. I knew it was my halfway point.
Then COVID-19 hit. Remember that? Well, my mom was soon diagnosed with COVID-19, and she left this world shortly after. The inability to see her in the hospital and advocate for her made this time so much worse than it would have been in less tumultuous times. I felt like I was in a tunnel, searching for that point of light showing me the way out. I daydreamed of trips my mom, dad, two brothers, and sister had taken to visit my grandparents in Florida. We were still living in Ohio when I was in Elementary school. I loved it when we approached the Florida border with its free orange juice, wax-pressed alligator machine, and balmy breezes. We would stop at Stucky’s for pecan logs and Waffle House for sustenance. I would marvel at the paper placemat that illustrated all the wonders of Florida, from space travel to exotic reptiles. This was my ah-ha moment. I was smiling at the memory and decided that if this made me smile, I could bring back fond memories for others. We all needed relief from the pain of loss. Whether it was the loss of loved ones, the loss of a job, or the loss of companionship due to isolation, we needed reminders of happier times.
I began my Vintage Florida Series. I painted the Florida welcome sign I saw as a child, accompanied by my lucky orange bird cup, a roadmap, and those juicy Florida oranges. I posted it on Facebook sites related to Florida History, and folks began telling tales of state visits. I then painted the billboard that announced, “4 Miles to Citra and the Orange Shop.” I loved the pop-art quality of the old signage and could add washes to give them all my artist’s stamp. The orange and its white blossoms became my signature. I kept painting more scenes that reminded me of that captivating Florida paper placemat that would sit underneath my plate of bacon, grits, eggs, and biscuits.
The gloom soon began to lift as strangers related light-hearted times in their lives after viewing pieces related to Marineland, The Kennedy Space Center, The Orange Blossom Special, Mayport, and more. I also started painting iconic Jacksonville steadily because I couldn’t ignore what used to be; after all, I am married to the captain of Jacksonville Memories. One day, I will create a book of my pieces with the stories from my epidemic of friends on social media. In the meantime, I continue to document the past and present of this city, this state, and my family with paint and brush.
In parting, I’d like to leave you with one thing. Find a way to contribute your talents and time to making our home “Jacksonville” more joyful. Don’t feel you must solve all the world’s problems because you can’t. But you can make a difference. Our little artist co-op, The Art Center Cooperative, Inc., has many outreach programs that work towards this end. I love working with fellow artists to create murals for our Duval Elementary School kids or provide art workshops for other non-profits trying to help children recover from trauma. Through our arts community, I have found good people, great places, and beautiful things to see everywhere.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The thing you will find out about most artists is that they wear many hats. We all have responsibilities, and art becomes a beloved sideline versus a full-time job. Significantly, only some artists can support themselves through their art practice alone. After school, I enjoyed a career in technology, not architecture. (Long Story) I remember my son sleeping on two office chairs under my raincoat many late afternoons as my husband and I worked our way up the corporate ladder. A Fortune 500 company employed Scott and me for over a decade as software developers and project managers. My job required exhausting travel, spending two weeks every month in a hotel room on the other end of the country.
One day, after picking my son up from extended care from middle school, I was trying to handle a conference call while driving and was contemplating how much time I had before I had to fly out again to the West Coast. I nearly drove us both into a construction zone on 95 (running over several traffic cones brought me back to reality), and I realized I might be stretching things a little too thin. I traded this position for a lower-paying one as the marketing manager for a small European retail linen company, creating catalogs semi-annually and managing their website and social media. This reunited me with the right hemisphere of my brain, and I could reduce my travel to two weeks a year. I could work from home and have a certain autonomy that would allow me to be a better parent and partner.
We all have struggles in our personal and professional lives. I’ve had my share of family drama during and after my parents’ divorce and subsequent remarriages, care for ill and aging families, and the death of loved ones. With my ability to work remotely, I could be present when needed. During this time, I sketched more as I thought about marketing strategies and moved toward an art career. Thanks to my husband’s willingness to remain in the workforce and provide a steady income and insurance, I can now commit all my time to something I love to do: Paint! I also can give something back through volunteering. I wish I had worked steadily at my art practice throughout my life, but I am happy to be where I am now, and the skills I learned in my varied technical careers are invaluable. My son now has a BFA and MFA in fine art. He works for an art non-profit, and I hope he finds joy throughout his life as a creator. It’s the best therapy I know. I also have a niece who works in animation. I’m glad to see the next generation embracing art. It is so vital to our well-being and defines who we are culturally.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am now a professional artist. It took a lot of work to tell people this initially. Would they take me seriously? Once I became true to myself, I succeeded in many ways. I am the immediate past president of the Art Center Cooperative, Inc. (TAC) and the current president of the Jacksonville Artists Guild (JAG). I develop and maintain the websites for both organizations and give more online visibility to our members and groups. I have done workshops and given presentations about my art practice, a visual journey of our history. I have had solo shows, created many commissioned works, and won awards. I have my art studio through TAC, and each year, my income increases from selling my art, allowing me to commit more time to work with peer non-profits, business owners, and our city government to help art organizations and public venues elevate arts in our community through volunteerism as an artist and as a technology’s professional. I am proud to work with wonderful organizations like the Hubbard House and Kim’s Open Door. Helping to design and implement murals through TAC for Duval County Elementary schools has also been fantastic and satisfying. I donate art annually so other organizations and city administrations can raise money to reach their goals.
The support for the arts from the City of Jacksonville, the Cultural Council, the Jacksonville Main Library, The Beaches Fine Art Series, MOSH, MOCA, and Jacksonville International Airport has helped me and many others expand our reach locally as artists. Private businesses like North Point Dental, Reddi-Arts, and the new Happy Medium Bookstore and Cafe are contacting our organizations to further art in our community. There are many more; these are just a few of my favorite personal interactions. Donations to arts non-profits from the city government and businesses like Farah, Farah, and Vystar fuel our arts community. One day, I hope that Jacksonville will be viewed as a national art mecca full of culture and creativity, and the playing ground will be equal for us all; I am part of this effort and am proud of that. I am most proud of being one of the Jacksonville Art folks! I have a community of friends and colleagues in this town who continue to impress and inspire me.
What makes you happy?
Learning makes me happy. Learning from art friends through artist presentations by the Jacksonville Artists Guild encompasses many local talents with materials, techniques, and art promotion business knowledge. I’ve learned about fiber arts, animation, ceramics, printmaking, photography, watercolor, acrylics, oils, sculpture, welding, woodturning, plein air painting, and more. I just started exploring Lino reduction printing thanks to a workshop at TAC. I recently joined First Coast Plein Air Painters and can’t wait to learn from folks who have mastered the art of making art outside. I follow the Jacksonville Urban Sketchers with awe. Mostly, being part of this community of art and giving back to the community of art and the community at large makes me happy. Lastly, creating bright visual stories with artifacts from our past and present brings me joy.
Contact Info:
- Website: lisaloftonart.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/loftonuser/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/llofton3/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa1YRj6E1b8DaqsqmQmUFQQ
- Other: www.jacksonvilleartistsguild.org/lisa-lofton.html https://www.tacjacksonville.org/store/c3/Lisa_Lofton.html
