Lisa Parker & her t-shirt range by The Mountain®

The Mountain® - Lisa Parker T-shirts

Only a few months now into 2014 and we have found our most popular shirt sales are by the artist Lisa Parker. There are only 4 designs at the moment, but they have become so successful The Mountain® have licensed further designs by Lisa to be brought out for their t-shirts.

Lisa was gracious enough to take some time to answer some questions for me about her artwork and what we can expect in the future.  Before the Q&A's a small introduction about Lisa taken from her own website www.lisaparker.co.uk 

"Born in Devon, UK in 1974 Lisa Parker has always had a very keen interest in art, studying Natural History Illustration at Bournemouth & Poole Institute of Art & Design. Since leaving college she has worked successfully for many years as a freelance artist and has staged many one-man and two-man shows, as well as exhibiting work in prestigious locations such as The Mall galleries in London and Madison Avenue, New York. Although traditionally a wildlife artist Lisa has for many years ventured into the realms of witchcraft and fantasy; her wildlife skills naturally lending themselves to creatures and fairies. Her love of witchcraft and wildlife come together to create beautiful and unique designs."

Your bio says you started out primarily as a wildlife artist. When did you begin combining that with your love of witchcraft and fantasy to create the artwork you've become famous for? 

That began around 14 years ago when I started working with Nemesis Now, they were interested in creating a witchcraft range and I was a wildlife artist, it's something that sort of came naturally.

How long does it take you from conception to finishing a piece?  

Usually around 6 weeks my images now have to be highly detailed so the detailing takes quite a while.

Do you have many on the go at once? Or do you prefer to work on one piece at a time?

No I tend to have several concept sketches done and I'll favour one to work on.

How do you prefer to work?  Do you do it the traditional way with pencil and pad to start? Or are you using a computer programme?

The concept sketches are all done with pencil and then the finished piece is worked on a computerised drawing board, using the same techniques as I use with water colour, layer upon layer.However I do also love working with oils but rarely have time these days as my designing keeps me very busy.

How difficult was it to get your artwork out there for people to see? 

Extremely! it is for every artist and its something that takes years and years. I have been doing this ever since leaving college around 17 years ago and only recently has my work become more known. Its a case of entering exhibitions all the time, writing letters, visiting companies and this takes years.

Your artwork has been licensed and displayed on so many mediums. What was the very first licensed product? and how excited were you to see it created?

My very first item was a greeting card and I was very excited! although straight after being excited you become concerned "what if it doesn't sell?"

What painting that you've done is your favourite? 

In oil, it was a little duck painting because I love to paint things in water. More recently though I  probably like  "the witching hour" the most although I'm highly critical of my work and don't like to look at them too much because I always see the mistakes.

Do you ever get recognised in public? 

ha ha! no never! I don't consider myself well known at all.

Have you ever seen someone wearing one of your t-shirts or with something with your artwork on it and gone up to them and said hey I'm the artist?  

I never say I'm the artist because I'm embarrassed by it. Its different selling you work on the internet than face to face. I have been sent pictures of people wearing my tshirts and that's really nice to see. I'm so flattered that people want to wear my artwork.

What kind of work can we expect from you in the near future?  

Well I'm working on another wolf one right now. I'm going to Canada soon so I'll be getting loads of reference and expanding my wildlife portfolio, although I will be doing more cats as well because many companies have asked for more.

To purchase a t-shirt by Lisa Parker visit our website www.tamstreasuresonline.co.uk where you'll find our best seller "The Witching Hour" and her other designs: "Spellkeeper", "Tallisman" and "Unicorn Night".

Go, like and follow Lisa Parker's facebook page where fans can see her latest artwork, competitions and new products featuring her artwork.