Laurence “Lonnie” Sisson was born in Boston, MA in 1928. When he was a child, he contracted chicken pox and was made to quarantine in a room in his home for two weeks. During this quarantine, his parents provided him with an easel, canvas, and paints, and ever since seeing what he made in that time, encouraged and supported him in the pursuit of art. At 17, Sisson became the youngest member of the American Watercolor Society. This time is also when he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and shortly after, found himself in Japan, where he quickly fell in love with traditional Japanese artwork and traded his tobacco for pieces of fine art. Upon arriving back in the United States after his tour was complete, Laurence brought back with him the inspiration of Japanese art and began to work its rhythmic, angular qualities into his own paintings of the seascapes on the East Coast, a subject he’d be enamored with for the next twenty years. In the 70’s Sisson and his wife Judy packed up their things and moved from Maine to New Mexico. Initially afraid to leave behind the oceans and rocky coastlines he loved so much, Laurence quickly saw the connections between the East and West. His islands became mesas, his oceans became the desert floor, and all of a sudden he, and his paintings, were right back home in a brand new place. He’d continue to paint the desert southwest up until his death at the age of 87. Sisson’s paintings are distinguishable by their sharply-defined line work and soft palette, and can now be found in museums across the country.(1928 – 2015)