Widener Arts - Artist Lisa Widener

10/23/2026

An almost unBEARable day… made a little sweeter by some time at the easel. 🐻

Yesterday brought plenty of distractions and a mind pulled in too many directions. But I got to spend part of the day working on this fellow.

I added color, more strokes of fur, and some honeycombs back into the painting. He’s still a work in progress, but he’s getting closer.

There’s something about his relaxed pose and gentle expression that keeps reminding me to exhale and just breathe.

That’s a feeling I hope carries through the finished painting—and eventually into the space where he finds a home.

For now, here’s a glimpse of him and the studio where he’s coming together.

Does he make you feel like taking a little breather, too?

10/21/2026

Where would Quiet Radiance feel most at home?

A warm, neutral room.
A deep navy wall.
Or a textured gray setting.

Each brings something different forward—the vivid blues, the golden light, or the layers and patterns within the painting.

Which would you choose for your home or a space you’re designing?

Message me for artwork details and options, or explore my work at widenerarts.com.

Interior scenes are room mockups.

10/19/2026

A horse meets an “iron horse.”

My love of horses and my husband’s love of motorcycles and mechanical things came together in Gears of Vitality.

I wanted to give this horse a more masculine feel while still enjoying the color, layers, and patterns I love to paint.

Here’s a look at his progression—from an abstract beginning to the gears, flowing white mane, and blue eye of the finished painting.

Interested in Gears of Vitality? Message me for artwork details or visit widenerarts.com.

10/16/2026

Apparently this little bear needed some honey. 🍯🐻

Yesterday at the studio, I lightened his fur, worked some purples and blues into the log, added gold glazing, and let a few drips happen.

Then I tried a honeycomb stencil. Because… bear. Honey. It made me smile. 😂

I’m still figuring out where this painting is going, but I had fun trying things and seeing what happened. The log and the area beneath him are giving me a little more direction now.

Still a work in progress. Still playing!

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

Finding a little grace in a busy season.

As October moves along and the holidays get closer, Wind Dancer feels like a reminder I could use: adjust as things come, find your rhythm, and keep noticing the beauty along the way.

There’s movement everywhere in this painting, but the horse seems to dance through it.

Here he is in a few imagined spaces—from a warm, quiet room to a more dramatic setting. I love seeing how the surroundings bring out different qualities in the same painting.

The original painting is available. Message me for dimensions and pricing, or explore prints at widenerarts.com.

Interior scenes are room mockups.

10/12/2026

A look inside the process…

The day after installing ten paintings at Mayo Clinic Phoenix, I returned to this bear carrying the energy of that meaningful experience with me.

I worked on his eyes, introduced mist and clouds into the mountains, and allowed color and instinct to lead. Not every part is resolved yet—and that is part of the process.

The bear still needs more work. The background needs further resolution. The log beneath him is waiting for its final transformation. Yet compared with the loosely drawn figure on the nearly bare canvas where he began, he is already emerging into a world of his own.

Sometimes creative freedom isn’t the absence of uncertainty. It is the willingness to keep experimenting alongside it.

Which part draws your eye first?

10/09/2026

Hope doesn’t always arrive all at once.

Sometimes it comes in drops—in kindness, connection, beauty, and the little reminders that there is still so much light in the world, if we remember to look for it.

This week, I noticed those drops everywhere: a friend making a long drive with me, someone welcoming me into a new opportunity, people pausing in a hospital hallway to offer a kind word or smile, and a painting finding a new place where it can be seen.

*Drops of Light* is now hanging at Mayo Clinic Phoenix. I hope it offers patients, families, staff, and visitors a small moment of color, beauty, or rest.

Where have you noticed a drop of light this week?

And perhaps more importantly—have you shared one? 💙

Fine-art prints of *Drops of Light* and my other paintings are available at widenerarts.com.

10/07/2026

Well, to be honest, yesterday felt a little surreal.

Seeing my paintings together on the walls at Mayo Clinic—in two different areas of the campus—was exciting, humbling, and deeply meaningful.

As we unloaded the paintings and began setting up, people passing through started stopping.

“Oh, that’s beautiful.”

“I love this.”

A couple of people had already read the artist plaque, and one woman even greeted me by name. That was kind of cool—and a little strange! I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, but I was very grateful.

Before the installation was even finished, the artwork was already creating little moments of connection.

Once everything was hung, the hallways felt brighter and more alive. I hope these paintings offer patients, visitors, and staff a moment of beauty, hope, or simply a place for the eyes and spirit to rest.

I’m so grateful to Akridge at Mayo Clinic for her kindness and care throughout the installation, and to my friend Reyna Peery for coming along for the ride and documenting the day so beautifully.

The music is the beginning of my song “Trust.” The line “I know where to find the light” felt especially fitting.

I hope these paintings help someone else find a little light, too. 💙

widenerarts.com