He grew up on a small family farm raising goats, rabbits and chickens and spending as much time as he could in the surrounding mountain ranges hiking and camping with his parents and his 4 brothers and 4 sisters.
From an early age he loved to draw. He was always drawing on the bus, at home, in his school classes, and even in church. It was mostly space ships and super heroes back then, but he was also fascinated with the nature subjects he saw all around him.
He graduated from Millard High School in 1998, and continued on to Dixie State College in St. George, UT where he studied fine arts. He worked his way through school as an advertising intern, a supervising editor in a market research firm, and as a graphic designer for the advertising department of the local Spectrum Newspaper. In addition to a full time class load which included a mixture of nearly every art class available, he served as Art Club President for two years. As part of his studies he took several art field trips to Los Angeles California and Even took a 21 day study abroad trip to Italy, Greece, and Turkey.
After graduating from Dixie State College, he spent some time traveling, which included several months bicycling across Vermont and into Canada. He then spent a few years working as a graphic designer for local print and sign shops, and was accepted into the prestigious Art Institute where he eventually graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Design.
He worked for over 10 years as a graphic designer, illustrated 3 children's books, and had photography and illustrations featured in several print magazines and online publications. He worked for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) creating interpretive panels, trailhead signs and collateral, as well as working with different nature organizations to raise awareness of specific environmental causes, including National Ride your Bike to Work Day and the preservation of National Conservation Areas.
His run of political cartoons got a lot of attention, and the collection was awarded the Mark of Excellence award from the society of professional journalism.
In 2018, Lisonbee was selected to be the National Parks Service Artist in Residence on Padre Island National Seashore, TX. He was thrilled to leave the grind of his increasingly corporate graphic design career to return to his first love of drawing and painting. He spent 4 months painting on the island, rediscovering watercolor, and reconnecting with nature. Five of his original works remain in their private collection as well as artwork that was used for interpretive purposes in the Padre Island Visitor's Center.
Lisonbee credit's this as the real beginning of his fine art career. Since then, he was awarded a second artist residency with Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, WY.
He won first place at the professional division at the Magna Art on Main competition for 2 years in a row.
He participated in the first annual South Jordan Art on the River Plein Aire event for which his painting received first prize in the judging.
His paintings were awarded Second Place and Honorable Mention ribbons respectively at the Utah State Fair at which he was also given the Award of Merit from the Utah Watercolor Society at which he is a fully participating member.
His paintings have been on display all across the Salt Lake Valley including exhibitions in library's, museums, and other city buildings.
Aside from painting, Lisonbee enjoys farming, playing guitar, going to rock concerts, most sports that include balancing on a board, bicycling, outdoor nature activities, heckling telemarketers and spending time with family.