Emily Lisker

Fruit Goddess

2011-12-31T15:14:00.002-05:00

This painting was inspired by the Minoan Snake Goddess, an image that has haunted Emily for years.

Fruit Goddess, 2011, oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

Interior

2011-11-20T12:36:00.003-05:00

An appropriate mood for the onset of Winter.

Interior, 2011, oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

Modern Times

2011-10-31T09:37:00.005-04:00

Modern Times, 2011, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

An unsettling image for unsettling times.

This is one of a handful of surreal images Emily started a while ago, images that she refers to as Postcards from Saturn.

Elephant Hat

2011-10-16T17:32:00.005-04:00

Another circus couple!

Elephant Hat, 2011, oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

Magic Trick

2011-10-10T20:25:00.001-04:00

Maybe he doesn't fully understand his own magic.

Magic Trick, 2011, oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

The Embrace

2011-10-09T20:26:00.005-04:00

They embrace tenderly and a little wearily, as if having spent an entire night dancing.

The Embrace, 2011, oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

This is another in Emily's pas de deux collection. See here for these other examples.

The Farce

2011-10-02T14:18:00.000-04:00

The story is all in the hands.

The Farce, 2011, oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

This painting is based on a much earlier illustration that was commissioned by The New Yorker many years ago. Sadly, they never published it, in spite of sending a private courier all the way from NYC to get the painting after they had lost the photo transparency.

Circus, 1992, oil on canvas, 20" x 25"
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Snake Charmer

2011-09-25T19:40:00.003-04:00

The beaked Plague Doctor mask is a classic Venetian Carnevale mask. This minstrel is perhaps hoping to ward off the effects of too much charm.

Snake Charmer, 2011, oil on canvas, 16" x 20"
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Carnival Tiger

2011-09-18T14:23:00.005-04:00

Can you tell which one is the carnival tiger?

Carnival Tiger, 2011, oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

Emily has embarked on a new series of generally larger paintings, based on her love of the circus, commedia dell'arte, carnival, and minstrelsy. We'll call this series Carnival, and Everyone is Left-handed will be considered the first painting in this series.

Ham and Eggs

2010-11-07T11:40:00.017-05:00

Ham, 2010, oil on canvas, 10" x 10"
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Eggs, 2010, oil on canvas, 10" x 10"
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Emily painted these two little paintings just for fun. They have been entered in this year's Pawtucket Arts Collaborative holiday show, which is currently up. Everything in the show, which is a fund-raiser for the PAC, is 10" x 10" or less, and everything is for sale for $150. The opening will be on Thursday the 11th at 5:30. Don't miss your chance to buy an original Emily painting for a good price and a good cause!

Prop Master

2010-08-14T07:09:00.005-04:00

Prop Master, 2010, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

Emily's painted dramas make plenty use of sets and props, but this is a rare instance of no characters, just props and setting. But of course, in Emily's paintings, the props ARE characters.

UPDATE: Both this painting and Trio were selected for the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative 2010 open juried show. Click here to read Emily's statement from that show.

Everyone is Left-handed

2010-07-18T17:24:00.006-04:00

Everyone is Left-handed, 2010, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"
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Emily's own commedia dell'arte troupe!

By the way, Emily points out that if you have a left hand, then you are, technically, left-handed.

Black Stockings

2010-02-01T09:21:00.009-05:00

Black Stockings, 2010, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

It could be perfectly innocent, but there's something a bit sinister going on here.

UPDATE: This painting was selected for "Water," the 2010 Pawtucket Arts Collaborative members juried show. Click here to read Emily's statement from that show.

The arched arcade overlooking the sea has appeared before:

Summer Arcade, 2005, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

The Family

2010-02-01T09:19:00.006-05:00

The Family, 2010, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

Not a flattering portrait; serene, tragic, perhaps inevitable.

Double Take

2010-01-17T22:48:00.004-05:00

Double Take, 2010, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

What makes you look twice, the lady with her inverted twin or the cross-dressing robot?

Trio

2010-01-17T21:58:00.010-05:00

Trio, 2010, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

Dancing girls in exotic outfits who happen to be missing their heads. Compare with this much earlier painting below, a solitary predecessor.

UPDATE: Both this painting and Prop Master were selected for the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative 2010 open juried show. Click here to read Emily's statement from that show.

Night Beach, 2006, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Cactus Flower

2010-01-17T21:26:00.009-05:00

Cactus Flower, 2009, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

Aww, isn't she beautiful?

Emily named her most recent show (at AS220 in Providence) Three's a Crowd, and this will now be the name of this series which so far consists of 20x16 paintings. Click here to read Emily's statement from that show regarding this series.

Perishables and Tangibles

2009-09-06T10:11:00.010-04:00

Perishables and Tangibles, 2009, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"
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The flying ephemera is the final touch in a painting that has it all: food, pets, draperies, and headlessness.

The Unspeakable Space Between Us

2009-09-06T09:55:00.008-04:00

The Unspeakable Space Between Us, 2009, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

In this current series of 20x16 paintings (which started with Stage of Indecision), Emily has been giving her characters a little more living space. Here the characters seem to have drifted apart in response, dimly aware of their estrangement.

PS: Check out the photo of this costume at the New York Times.

Balance

2008-08-27T22:55:00.018-04:00

Balance, 2008, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"
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A pensive woman in a spare setting that is somehow both indoors and outdoors. Compare with this earlier painting below.
Dream With Blue Gloves, 2005, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Baroque

2008-08-27T18:44:00.008-04:00

Baroque, 2008, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"
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Another take on the pas de deux theme (see here for more on this theme). This view is a bit more "revealing."

Blind Date

2008-02-21T22:30:00.011-05:00

The way to a man's heart . . . As in the painting below, there is the desire to connect, yet the fear of intimacy.

Blind Date, 2008, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
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Cup of Coffee, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Sisterhood

2008-02-21T22:26:00.012-05:00

The paired females show up in Emily's paintings now and again. There is an affection and gentleness between them, in spite of the obvious estrangement.

Sisterhood, 2008, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
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Ouija, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
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The Boudoir

2008-01-08T19:53:00.003-05:00

Emily loves stage props, which occasionally become characters in their own right.

The Boudoir, 2008, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Accompaniment

2008-01-04T15:07:00.003-05:00

The ubiquitous curtain plays a new role, hiding the head of the female character. Earlier in the 11x14 Series, as in the painting below, the hiding was accomplished by simply removing the head - not in a violent way, but rather quietly and peacefully.

Accompaniment, 2008, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Leaf, 2007, oil on canvas, 8" x 10"

The Hairdresser

2008-01-04T15:02:00.003-05:00

What can I say - Emily likes bald heads.

The Hairdresser, 2008, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Reflection

2008-01-03T19:37:00.005-05:00

Emily's fascination with flat, graphic patterns raises havoc with the space in her paintings. Compare with an earlier painting below, and note the variation on the curtain device.

Reflection, 2008, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Theatrics, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Robot With Green Ball

2008-01-03T19:23:00.006-05:00

More in the 11x14 Series: a rare solo performance by a male character. This brings to mind a comment in Emily's current Artist's Statement about the robots in her work: they tend to appear in my narratives as emotionally fragile, yet happy to be alive, as it were.

Robot With Green Ball, 2008, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Stage of Indecision

2007-12-30T18:24:00.003-05:00

Stage of Indecision, 2007, oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

Not officially part of the 11x14 Series, but obviously influenced by it.

Musicians

2007-12-30T12:43:00.003-05:00

The evolution of Emily's classic pas de deux in the 11x14 Series.
Musicians, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
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Made For Each Other, 2006, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
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Yellow Beach Ball, 2004, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
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The Nap

2007-12-30T12:12:00.004-05:00

Emily had no idea how similar these paintings were until I pointed it out to her. The dreaming male character from the earlier painting below has become the napping robot.

The Nap, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Dreamer, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
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A Good Book

2007-12-30T11:52:00.003-05:00

Earlier in the 11x14 Series, angular shadows started coming to life, as in the painting below. Eventually they became robots, and then became the leading male characters.

A Good Book, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Triangle, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Dance With Serpent

2007-12-30T10:21:00.003-05:00

Umbrellas and parasols (and snakes!) are frequent devices in Emily's paintings. There's no hidden meaning; she finds them graphically interesting. It turns out that Emily has a 19th century NY ancestor who was an umbrella maker. (No snake-charmers though.)Dance With Serpent, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Umbrella Partners

2007-12-30T10:19:00.003-05:00

In these latest paintings, the characters seem to be bursting their boundaries, and in their enthusiasm may be signaling the natural end of the 11x14 Series and a desire by Emily to move to a larger canvas.Umbrella Partners, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

Serenade

2007-12-30T10:00:00.004-05:00

This painting and the five posted following (above) are the latest in the 11x14 Series, a series that began, almost accidentally, five years ago, and which finally evolved into its own show, at AS220 in the spring of 2007. These paintings come on the heels of that show.Serenade, 2007, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
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