First Impressions is a book which works on several levels. It is about the personal journey made by Lisa Hooper from career conservationist to wildlife artist and it is organised around the many different print media she uses. In describing her methods, Lisa provides basic technical details which help the reader to understand printmaking. First Impressions is also populated with more personal observations which explain her love of nature and her desire to communicate this through her art. Her striking and atmospheric prints are used to illustrate these threads throughout.
A life long interest in natural history and a passion for drawing eventually came together when Lisa Hooper was liberated from the Civil Service by redundancy in 2005. She had been printmaking since joining an evening class in etching in Cheltenham during the early 1990's and had bought her own press in 1998. On relocating to South West Scotland in 2006 she embarked on a new life as a full time artist, inspired by the beauty of the birds and landscape of Dumfries and Galloway. Finally able to explore new printmaking methods and to develop her bird art fully, she has enjoyed increasing success. Her work now appears in galleries and exhibitions throughout the UK. Some of Lisa's earlier work featured in Wildlife in Printmaking.