Today my guest is Lisa Congdon, an amazing illustrator and fine artist best known for her colorful abstract paintings, intricate line drawings, pattern design and hand lettering. She works for international clients including MoMA, Harvard University, Martha Stewart Living, Chronicle Books, The Land of Nod, Simon & Schuster, and Cloud9 Fabrics. Her work is shown in galleries around the nation and she also writes a popular blog, Today is going to be awesome. She is the author of 6 books including Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

00:25 Intro to Lisa Congdon

1:57 Lisa’s background and starting her art career

6:31 Lisa on Flickr and Instagram

10:45 Changing careers and building a following

17:03 Lisa’s blog Today is going to be awesome

19:32 Getting started in writing and illustrating

25:06 Time management on multiple projects

33:58 Contract negotiations and working with a spouse

40:15 LGBT influences on life and career

Find more about Lisa at LisaCongdon.com, including her shop, blog, and classes. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Quotes:

“It just goes to show, you never know what’s going to happen in your career” - Lisa

“One of the beautiful things about the internet; queer kids can now easily find pictures of what it looks like to live a normal life.” - Lisa

“Here’s the irony: my life is just as boring as yours. There’s nothing extraordinary about my life as a gay person” -Lisa