Life & Work with Alisa H. Workman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisa H. Workman. 

Hi Alisa, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a preschool art teacher at an independent school with a degree in Geology/Crystallography who finally realized that her dream was to become an artist. I’ve always been that crafty person who gardened. In the past, I had painted and tiled garden pots and birdbaths and was an avid flower gardener who once had my garden featured in the city’s garden tour. I decided I wanted to learn how to paint flowers, and in 2015 I picked up an art book to learn. After my mother’s death and sister’s suicide in 2016, and my husband’s cancer diagnosis in 2017, I immersed myself in painting to help heal those wounds and bring some light into my life. Since then, I have found painting to be a daily ritual that helps improve my mood and relaxes me. And although bright at times, I simply love color. 

I’ve gone to a few workshops and taken a few online courses to help guide me, but I do not have an art degree of any kind. Everything I have learned has come from listening to others and practicing. 

Besides flower paintings, I have painted furniture…most recently a pair of chairs…just to see if I could do it, and this will be the third year that I will create a collection of Christmas ornaments. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m very quiet and reserved, so the biggest obstacle I had was asking questions and other people for help. 

When I started to paint, it was just to help me…you know they say that art heals…but then I decided I loved to paint so much that I wanted to be doing it all the time. I sold my first piece in 2017 which made me think that people liked my work and that maybe I could actually paint to sell regularly. 

I was lucky enough to find a business that could photograph my paintings and began selling prints to fund my paints and canvases. The people that ran that business, Ronnie and David at ParkBench Studio, gave me a space one month in The Front Street Buildings in Dayton, OH, to have a small show. They helped start the ball rolling. Eventually, I became friends with the artist community at Front Street and they have been very supportive in my journey. I’ve found that if most artists are confident with themselves and their work, they are willing to answer questions and help other artists pursue their goals. That’s exactly what these artists did for me. 

I also had another lucky break. Someone bought a large print and took it to a local gallery/framing studio. I was approached and asked to have some of my pieces available for sale in the gallery, and that relationship continues to be strong. 

While those have been the lucky things that have happened, the hardest thing is that I do not have a studio or space where my work can be viewed. I paint in our home, so I have applied to shows in the area as well as tried to find space to show my work. In April of 2022, I finally got a website, ahworkmanart.com, together, but that is not the perfect way to view my work. Because I paint large canvases, you cannot really get the feel for each piece unless you see it in person. 

I feel I’ve come a long way in the short time I’ve been painting, but there is so much more I want to do. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work reflects my love of flowers and color. Since I was a young child, I have loved flowers. They are the perfect accompaniment to just about anything. I have always been surrounded by them in the yard, and I have carried that love into adulthood. From the time I first had a home, flowers were a necessity in the yard and house. After 40 years of gardening, I decided to take paintbrush to the canvas and create flowers of my own. 

The second part of the equation is color. I LOVE COLOR. While I might be dressed in dark colors, I prefer to be surrounded by bright, beautiful color. I’ve managed to take those two elements which are important to me and combine them in my paintings which I refer to as “lightly abstract floral works…renderings of bold flowers with rich splashes of color.” 

Each piece is created from the heart…taking in all the surrounding energy to produce something that I hope will bring joy to those who see it. Joy…that was my reason for painting in the first place. 

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the Dayton area…the art community, the restaurants, how the city is trying to bring in new businesses and have entertainment for everyone to enjoy…to build up a city that has seen so many move out…but that’s the problem. It seems to be the same crowd of people that support the arts, the restaurants, the downtown. And while family weekend festivals may bring people in, it’s just for that weekend. 

Contact Info:

• Website: ahworkmanart.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ahworkman