Growing up with a mother whose passion was also found in painting, and needing a job, it was easy for Harding parent Lisa Quishenberry to discover her career path.

“I worked for Six Flags and we did big projects all over the world, so technically I have paintings all over the world, in parks in Belgium or Mexico,” said Quishenberry.

“(Painting) It’s just a talent you have. At some point in time, we moved here from California and I needed to get a job. I actually just answered an ad in the paper, and unbeknownst to me it was to work for Six Flags Sign Shop. I was the only person hired from the paper. God just met my need and allowed me to be an artist.”

After working with Six Flags, Quishenberry established a reputation as a well known painter in Oklahoma.

Quishenberry painted 33 portraits of Oklahoma athletes that are now hanging in the foyer of The Jim Thorpe Museum downtown.

“There’s a train mural downtown and I painted 165 of those portraits. They allowed me to paint whoever I wanted and so even Casey [Quishenberry] is on the mural down there,” she said. But the art doesn’t stop downtown.

“If you go out to White Water Bay, almost everything out there, I’ve done by now. Whether it be the pizza sign or the rides sign, or the big murals that are on two of their fences,” Quishenberry added.

Quishenberry also painted 18 portraits in the kids’ area of the Oklahoma Science Museum, as well as the blueprint paintings in the airplane exhibit. Lately, she’s been branching out and sharing her talent with local schools.

“For the past four years I’ve been painting for the Putnam City School district. Actually, showing your principal those images helped him figure out what type of image he would like doing for your school,” she said.

Quishenberry painted the eagle mural between the two staircases at Harding Charter Prep this summer.

“Your principal decided the words to include in the mural. The thought process behind this is that if the words keep appearing for the students as they grow throughout high school, they might influence their character,” Quishenberry said. “I think it’s fun because those words lift that eagle up, they allow that eagle to soar. In reality, that’s what the goal is for all of you guys to do. Your training here should help you soar through life.”

With all of the work she has done in the Oklahoma City area, Quishenberry remains humble.

“It’s only because God is gracious to me that I can do all of this,” she said.