About Lisa

Artist-designer Lisa Ekström lives and works in Santa Cruz, California. Raised in a family of architects, musicians, painters, and weavers, she was the only second grader in her class who knew what "Helvetica" was.

After years of working as an art director and graphic designer, Lisa began to focus more on her work by hand: painting, lettering, and illustration. She created an ongoing series of calligraphy styles based on fictional characters like Emma Woodhouse, Amélie Poulain, and Holly Golightly. She has received love letters, fanmail, and awards for her series of tea towel calendar designs for Spoonflower. Her work has been featured in The Sun Times for Sun Basket, and in Martha Stewart Weddings, Town & Country, and San Francisco Brides magazines. 

Since October 2014, she has been making art every day, and completed a 1,000-day daily art project in June 2017. In 2017, she also completed a 100-day 100-page abstract story book. In 2019 she partnered with artist Sonia Brittain on a 100-day project of abstracts painted to music. All three of these projects can be followed on Instagram at @lisaeks, using #1000dayproject , #100daysofabstractstorybook and #100daysofabstractsandmusic . Lisa has been an enthusiastic participant in the international Round Table [Collaboration] Postal Collage Project every year since it began in 2011, founded and facilitated by Marty McCutcheon.

These days she can be found ink-spattered, paintbrush at the ready, singing along with her accordion, and nearly always in red clogs.