My name is Kimberlee Lisicki Biernacki. I am from Folly Beach, South Carolina. I became interested in painting in high school. I was fascinated with realism, the talent that someone must have to make a painting look exactly like real life. I wanted to learn how to be that good. I tried a few pieces on my own (which I was actually quite impressed with), later I took IB and AP art. I still have the portfolios from the classes, it is quite the experience to see and hold where I began.
Later, I attended the College of Charleston, SC. Although my major was in biology (with a medical school focus), I still wanted to learn more about painting. After taking the required drawing classes (which I’m very glad I did), I took several painting classes.
After college I started volunteering, then working for the Medical University of South Carolina. Intending to be a starting point for med school, but ending in a love of working in a research lab. I worked in various research labs, ending in something called histology, a very tedious, small, detailed, week-long process of making slides. I was good at it, and I enjoyed it. Is there a theme to small detailed work I’m sensing?
After 5 years of working in a research lab, I dramatically changed everything in my life and moved to Las Vegas, NV to become a middle school science teacher. Three very important events came of this. One, I met my husband Jimmy. He is from Pittsburgh, PA, but also moved to Vegas to start his teaching career. Two, being out west meant we were very close to NUMEROUS national parks and that became our “thing”. During our days off from teaching, we were driving all over the west, hitting as many states and national parks as we could. We even did a major cross country trip in our summer off in 2019. These trips inspired many of the pieces I have created and many to come. We planned on moving back to Charleston in the summer of 2020 (which we did), but being stuck at home during quarantine gave me the TIME to paint. Something, that since college became very seldom. Three, painting was back in my life.
After moving back to Charleston, I taught high school for 2 years. It was in my final year I realized I wanted to make my art a priority.
Thank you for being here and taking the time to get to know me. My goal with this website is to share my pieces, share my practice, share my learning, share my joys and frustrations. I’m glad you are here.