Lisa Marie Jakab is a contemporary abstract artist who lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Primarily working in painting, drawing, and photography, she creates vivid abstract landscapes. Jakab received her MFA with Distinction at American University and her BFA, magna cum laude, from Alfred University. She has exhibited work in New York, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Arlington, Columbus, Berlin, Sydney, and online. Artist residencies she has attended include: Bunker Projects (Pittsburgh), GlogauAIR (Berlin), Chautauqua Institution (Chautauqua, NY), as well as the Art Students League of New York. Artist Statement I create vibrant abstract landscapes through oil painting and drawing. Nature's rich visual stimuli and constant growth provide the foundation for each piece. I photograph nature to inform my color choices and compositions. My process is part of the subject matter; I experiment with the natural tendencies of paint—blending, dripping, and scraping oil paint—while embracing spontaneity to spur controlled brush marks. I pair intensely saturated colors with natural earth tones to create visual exclamation points. My drawings showcase distinct compositions that highlight different aspects of my creative perspective, exploring mark-making and the limitations of mixing with colored pencils. Each medium allows me to express my connection to nature in varied ways, enriching my overall body of work. My scale shifts from macroscopic to microscopic; sometimes, I portray both simultaneously, ranging from several inches to wall size. Strolling through a botanical garden or hiking along a trail, I can’t help but marvel with delight at the millions of tiny details surrounding me. It’s a climactic accumulation of sensory experiences. I strive to capture my excitement for nature in a single, digestible image. I compose each image from blended fragments of stimuli into a suggested landscape—a euphoric delight that deserves the spotlight and admiration I offer. Through my work, I seek to evoke the sublime beauty and complexity of nature, inviting others to pause on their own sensory experiences.