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Lisa Middleton
Growing up on the Upper Mississippi River valley, Lisa Middleton’s bedtime stories were tales of her parents’ adventures in Australia, south Asia, and Europe, where they were backpacking and travelling as teachers in the 1970’s. Family trips in her parents’ RV to places like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Arizona, and Florida, were the highlight of her childhood. She always knew she would become a traveler herself. Her journey has taken her to places like Nepal, Haiti, China, Western Europe; she has lived in Seattle and Chicago, and now resides in the beautiful state of Montana. Thanks to her mom, a Mississippi historian and writer, old books and old maps were always a part of her daily life.
Lisa took an interest in art at about the age of seven, but at the age of twelve, she began corresponding with renowned “camouflage artist” Bev Doolittle who encouraged her to become an artist. Her art was always around as Lisa blossomed, and Doolittle became a big influence in her life. Other artists who influenced Lisa include Louis Tiffany and Alphonse Mucha. Entirely self-taught, Lisa started out painting abstracts using acrylic and cotton paper, which she sold on the streets of Seattle and in small galleries. She also sold some of her own renditions of Tiffany’s stained glass. At age 22, she began experimenting with painting maps, and over the course of 13 years of trial and error, perfected her skill, and now, painting historic maps is at the heart of Lisa’s art business. Her work, Father of Waters is the map on which her entire business was built. It is a beautiful hand painted map from 1887, depicting the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the Delta of the Mississippi in the style of the historic ribbon map.
When not working on her next masterpiece, Lisa relaxes with her books on travel, exploration, and adventure. She also enjoys watching historical dramas. This traveler’s journey is still in progress, and her maps will take you on a journey of your own. Take the journey with her!
"A new map of Lake Pepin 2014" Artistically Enhanced Historical Map by Lisa Middleton
This beautiful 2014 historical and geographical map of Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River was created by Midwestern Map Artist, Lisa R. Middleton from current U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Charts. It pinpoints numerous islands and landmarks visible to those cruising on land or on water. The Sea Wing, traveling between Lake City and Stockholm, overturned during a storm in 1890, killing some 98 passengers and crew in the Lake Pepin's worst disaster.
The place names on Lake Pepin have particular historical significance. Some, like Stockholm or Reads Landing, commemorate the immigrants from Europe who settled the upper Mississippi River. Red Wing and Wabasha along the Minnesota shore reference several generations of Dakota Sioux chieftains. The surnames Pepin and Frontenac, and the French forts of St. Beauharnois and St. Antoine date back to the first French explorers in the middle of the 17th and early 18th centuries.
Lake (Lac) Pepin first appeared on a map of New France by Guillaume de L'Isle in perhaps 1720, to immortalize Etien Pepin who had received a huge French land grant in the area. Frontenac was the name of the French Colonial Governor of Canada for many years, between 1672 and 1698. The Ursuline order of nuns who first arrived in the infant New Orleans in 1727, also established a presence in association with missionaries at Fort St. Beauharnois (1727).The order continues to operate Villa Maria Conference and Retreat Center on the site.
Lisa makes her own reproductions. She will scan the map and paint the scan, not the original historic map. Starting with B&W, she then adds layers of stain, color to give the painting some of the parchment feel and weathered look. Lisa uses layers of watercolor and tea, pen and ink work to restore letters, and pastel and watercolor pencils to add dimension to her beautiful maps. Every wrinkle and stain is the work of the artist. It’s a process that has evolved through time and experience.
Like every artist out there, she has a reason for creating beautiful maps. In her words, “I would like to add beauty and warmth to their [buyers] lives, and give their home a sense of roots and history. I want to remind them [buyers] of a place that they love very much, and to inspire wonderful memories and a feeling of well-being.” She also wants her art to appeal to the buyer on many levels. Bev Doolittle believes that Lisa has achieved this, stating, “Art just gets better when it can connect on many levels: artistically, intellectually, historically, and narratively. Lisa Middleton has blended-in the old with new technology, a hard nut to crack these days.
11" x 34" overall size print
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"A new map of Lake Pepin 2014" Artistically Enhanced Historical Map by Lisa Middleton
This beautiful 2014 historical and geographical map of Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River was created by Midwestern Map Artist, Lisa R. Middleton from current U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Charts. It pinpoints numerous islands and landmarks visible to those cruising on land or on water. The Sea Wing, traveling between Lake City and Stockholm, overturned during a storm in 1890, killing some 98 passengers and crew in the Lake Pepin's worst disaster.
The place names on Lake Pepin have particular historical significance. Some, like Stockholm or Reads Landing, commemorate the immigrants from Europe who settled the upper Mississippi River. Red Wing and Wabasha along the Minnesota shore reference several generations of Dakota Sioux chieftains. The surnames Pepin and Frontenac, and the French forts of St. Beauharnois and St. Antoine date back to the first French explorers in the middle of the 17th and early 18th centuries.
Lake (Lac) Pepin first appeared on a map of New France by Guillaume de L'Isle in perhaps 1720, to immortalize Etien Pepin who had received a huge French land grant in the area. Frontenac was the name of the French Colonial Governor of Canada for many years, between 1672 and 1698. The Ursuline order of nuns who first arrived in the infant New Orleans in 1727, also established a presence in association with missionaries at Fort St. Beauharnois (1727).The order continues to operate Villa Maria Conference and Retreat Center on the site.
Lisa makes her own reproductions. She will scan the map and paint the scan, not the original historic map. Starting with B&W, she then adds layers of stain, color to give the painting some of the parchment feel and weathered look. Lisa uses layers of watercolor and tea, pen and ink work to restore letters, and pastel and watercolor pencils to add dimension to her beautiful maps. Every wrinkle and stain is the work of the artist. It’s a process that has evolved through time and experience.
Like every artist out there, she has a reason for creating beautiful maps. In her words, “I would like to add beauty and warmth to their [buyers] lives, and give their home a sense of roots and history. I want to remind them [buyers] of a place that they love very much, and to inspire wonderful memories and a feeling of well-being.” She also wants her art to appeal to the buyer on many levels. Bev Doolittle believes that Lisa has achieved this, stating, “Art just gets better when it can connect on many levels: artistically, intellectually, historically, and narratively. Lisa Middleton has blended-in the old with new technology, a hard nut to crack these days.
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