Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Artist Lisa DeWilde puts the finishing touches on a watercolor painting of her son, Jordan, and his pet mouse.

It's doodling that reminds artist of what's important

Artist Lisa DeWilde came full circle to be a professional artist

By Shari Kaplan

It wasn't until she got into trouble in a college math class that Los Gatos artist Lisa Triplett DeWilde decided she could no longer put her creative calling on the back burner.

"I loved drawing, even in kindergarten. I was always drawing when I was young, but everyone discouraged me, saying things like 'Oh, you don't want to be a starving artist,' " she recalls with a grin.

DeWilde initially studied at St. Mary's College in Moraga with thoughts of becoming a teacher. She says she doodled up a storm in math class because, being an artistic type, she never cared much for mathematics. When her class grade fell dangerously low, her teacher asked her if she'd ever considered attending an art school.

"He was the only one who actually thought it was something I should pursue," she says.

And so she moved on to the Academy of Art College in San Francisco and finished her college career with a bachelor of arts degree in illustration from San Jose State University.

When DeWilde dips a brush into watercolors--her favorite medium--it is usually to portray animals, people or both. Currently, her studio is a moveable one--a table, easel, lights and painting supplies in a room off the kitchen of her home, located in a pocket of Los Gatos near the Saratoga and Campbell borders.

She says she became especially interested in human portraiture when her son, Jordan, was born 712 years ago, as she loved drawing images of him as he grew. She also realized her great love for detail.

"The more detail, the better! I love to notice and draw the little details about people: their skin or eyes, the sheen of their hair, the patterns of their clothes," she explains.

DeWilde usually paints portraits based upon photographs supplied by her clients. She is just now starting to work from photos of clients taken specifically for this purpose, such as a recent batch snapped by her sister Kelly Williams, a photographer.

When going through family photo albums, DeWilde suggests to clients that they use photos showing family members doing fun things in natural poses--like kids covered with dirt while digging for worms--rather than everyone standing stiffly at attention for the camera. One time DeWilde had to wade through five albums in order to find 10 really good photos.

"A lot of the time, I think people have gold like that but they don't even know it," she says of finding that handful of images that have just the right expressions, light and arrangement.

She says she paints in watercolors because they have a more expressive quality.

"There's a fluid and transparent feeling that I really like. Watercolor feels very delicate to me. Oil paints are too solid."

Currently, most of DeWilde's business--mostly portraits and also some murals--comes from word-of-mouth, particularly that generated from her participation in the Open Studios of Santa Clara County, an annual spring event in which local painters, sculptors and artisans of all kinds open their work spaces for tours and informal demonstrations.

The last week in July, DeWilde opened her studio again--this time for an educational tour by children from Casa Di Mir Montessori Elementary School, located a few miles from her house.

When not painting, DeWilde tutors children with special educational needs. She is also working on writing and illustrating a children's book--she loves children--and may consider doing more book work if the endeavor goes well.

DeWilde may be reached at 537-0809.

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