NEWAYGO, Mich. — Most artists paint inside the lines. Lisa Portenga, of Newaygo, created a line of her own.
“It started back when my oldest daughter got married in 2006. She wanted a medieval wedding," said Lisa. “I think that's where my creativity started to come out.”
Her usual medium is items tossed away, unwanted.
"Junk," she laughed. “I do a lot of stuff like steampunk, with old watch pieces and gears and cogs.”
It's fitting that her muse suffers the same fate.
“I'm very passionate about rescue. Very, very passionate about that," she said. “I would like to foster. We have fostered before, but my husband says I'm a foster failure."
In front of a gray wall, on a gray couch, in a gray sweater, Lisa sits in her office, bringing to life a world of color.
“It all started with Hearts of Hope and their group of 12 puppies. The Brew Crew, they called them," she remembered.
Lisa used an app on her iPad to hand-draw cartoon portraits of pets. Being an artsy person, she just figured it was a creative outlet for her. She used one of the new puppies as a guide.
“I posted one and they're like, 'Oh my gosh, this is so cute. Can you do the other 11?' Then I started thinking, 'Well, maybe I could do a fundraiser where I could cartoon pets.'"
Relaxation is what this next stage of life was set to bring.
“I'm retired. It's kind of becoming a full-time job," she said.
Purpose, instead, set the stage for Lisa. Over just half a year, she's raised more than $15,000 for shelters across the state.
“I'm booked until June," she said, with her iPad on her lap. “I still have a life. And I still do things that I want to do. But most of the time I'm sitting here drawing.”
She teams up with Michigan shelters and puts on a week-long fundraiser. When you order a $20 portrait of your pet, half will go to Lisa and half will go to the shelter she's selected to benefit.
Each shelter she's worked with, Lisa has also drawn cartoons of their long-stay animals. The adorable new versions of their photos help attract attention and often lead to them getting adopted.
With over 2,000 cartoons to date, Lisa has drawn everything from dogs in suits to geckos, a famous sloth from a New Era farm, hairless guinea pigs to horses, to a simple portrait of a dog butt.
“She thought that was so cute and I was like, ‘Okay!’” laughed Lisa.
Lisa, on her couch, is forever changing lives miles away at Pound Buddies.
"She had contacted us and offered to do this to help raise some funds for the shelter," said Lana Carson, executive director. “It was $675. So we did 57 dogs, six cats, and one guinea pig.”
“Bless her heart, being that creative," said Lana. “It just automatically put a smile on my face.”
In a job that can be dark at times, people like Lisa are a light.
“When other people come in and then they're really anxious and excited about helping out, it not only helps the shelter, but there's a tremendous amount of motivation and excitement that it transcends onto us," Lana said.
"We will see the worst in a very small percentage of people. But then we often see the best in others," Lana said.
Spending her retirement poring over portraits, it's not hard to see the best in Lisa.
“There's other things that people can do besides, you know, foster or adopt," said Lisa. "This is something that I can do.”
In her office of gray, she will paint a world of color outside the lines — for the bigger picture.
"The happy endings, that makes it all worthwhile,” she smiled.
Get a cartoon of your dog and help a Michigan shelter for just $20 by ordering through Lisa's Facebook page, Cartoon Your Pet, here or through her website here.
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