Today we’d like to introduce you to Liza Sargent
Hi Liza, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Art has been my way of seeing the world since I was a kid. I was that student always getting in trouble for doodling in the margins, slipping into daydreams, and letting my mind wander just beyond the classroom walls. After high school, I tried the college route, but I quickly realized that wasn’t the path for me. So, I did what felt most true. I sold everything I had, packed a single backpack, and at 19, left for Hawaii with no plan and a lot of wild curiosity. I lived out of a tent on a farm, where they let me paint murals, and that experience set me on a six-year journey across countless places. I traveled and worked on farms, and wherever I went, I managed to convince people to let me bring some art into their lives – through murals, stickers, logos, even websites. Art was how I made a home out of every place I passed through.
Then, at 25, something shifted. The thrill of travel wore off, and I felt this overwhelming emptiness, like I’d lost myself. I came home briefly, and everything from those six years hit me all at once. For the first time, I could see my journey not just as memories but as stories waiting to be told. That realization gutted me, but it also brought me peace. I finally had my own stories to tell – stories that I’d felt but hadn’t yet found words or images for.
That night, I broke down, overwhelmed by the gratitude and uncertainty, and then, in a moment of clarity, I decided to bring those stories to life. I applied to every art school I could, determined to study 3D animation, and I haven’t looked back since. Now I’m in LA, working out of a studio in Chinatown, pouring all that I’ve lived and learned into my art. Clay, animation, paint, ink, whatever I can get my hands on, I’m creating. Driven by this well of stories and inspiration that filled the empty space travel left behind. I’m set to graduate in 2025, and now, I’m ready to turn my journey into something real, something that can reach others.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been anything but a smooth road. In those early years, I left home with less than 300 dollars and a lot of trust that things would somehow work out. I lived out of my car, worked on farms for food or a place to sleep, and just kept moving. Most of my work was through trade, so while it meant a lot of frugal living, I was okay with that. As long as I had somewhere to lay my head, a little food, and art, I felt content. But looking back, I can see just how isolating it was at times. Living that way, you’re constantly passing through, never quite belonging, always the outsider. The relationships were often as temporary as the work itself; people come and go, and you can feel like a ghost drifting through other people’s lives. But when you’re young, driven, and having fun, you don’t dwell too much on what’s missing. The road has a way of swallowing you whole, and I’d lose myself in the next project, the next mural, the next adventure. But those quiet moments alone, sleeping in a car under the stars, or painting into the night on some isolated farm – it taught me resilience, independence, and solace in simplicity. The hardships were present, but they also pushed me to live with purpose and intention.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work is a mix of whimsy and thought, and I create from a place that feels a bit like breathing. I can’t commit to one medium. I’ll jump from acrylic on canvas to ink on paper, watercolor, charcoal, or even large-scale murals, depending on what feels right in the moment.
I aim to make art that is not only visually pleasing but also mentally pleasing. I try to, at least. I want to make people feel the art and maybe even question things a bit. I’m always reading or writing, and sometimes a single line sticks with me, searing itself into my mind until it turns into an image. I write these lines on the back of my pieces because they’re the spark behind the art – the raw, unpolished beginnings of what ends up on the canvas.
As for what sets me apart? I think it’s the raw passion that I pour into every piece. I don’t create for the sake of creating; I create because I have to. I’m not sure if that makes me different or unites me with the community, but I know that if the passion dies, so does the art. I’m not interested in making something lifeless or mechanical, I want it to be real, to carry the soul of whatever inspired it. Art has to be alive, has to connect to something, and I like to think that passion comes through in everything I make.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I find a lot of things important: personal freedom, human connection, eye contact, creation. There’s something exhilarating about rejecting societal norms and standing in the raw truth of who we really are, human. It’s like a primal scream against the heavy expectations that weigh us down. When walking down the street, make eye contact with the person coming toward you, help the person next to you at the beach start their fire, and leave the good food on top of the garbage can. Not literally, although maybe. But I think you get what I’m saying: to try every day to become more understanding of the condition of the world. Keep learning and unlearning. Look out for your neighbor. Status is lame and unimportant. We’re all on a rock, bound to the same fate. Why try to deny or resist that? To feel the throb of shared humanity and the profound acknowledgment that we’re not alone in this isolating world is deeply grounding. It anchors the restlessness I often feel. Through this relentless search for deeper understanding, I create to attempt to bridge brief moments into an enduring mosaic of connection and meaning in this transient life. I reach into the void to integrate our stories together because, in the end, all we’re left with is the stories.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @lizasbrain
