About

Contemporary portrait painters, Sonny and Lisa Moeckel excel in the use of minimal color configurations and the art of transforming portrait and curvilinear forms using oil paint. Their unique collaborations evoke the mysterious and expressive nature of the human figure. 

On her own, Lisa has mainly focused on realism drawings, specifically portraiture. She has only expanded into oil painting in collaborations with Sonny. 

Born and raised on the reservation, Sonny (Jicarilla Apache and Navajo), had his first painting featured in The Heard Art Museum at the age of 13. 

Working mainly with oil paints, their two different styles combine to create expressionist portrait paintings. Their works express the balance between reality and distortion to evoke human emotion and vulnerability.

Chief Velarde was their first collaboration inspired by Sonny's Great Grandfather. This work was one of the paintings on display at their solo exhibition at the Lied Center for the Visual Arts at Whitworth University, The artist duo was selected by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in the juried finals of the Art on the Green in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a prominent organization dedicated to promoting excellence in the profession of fine art. Their work was donated to the TeamChild Art Auction and The Gathering at the Falls Art Auction. Some of their most current showings include River Park Square and The 5th Annual Plateau Native Art Show, Moeckel was awarded first place in the NNDF juried art show and People’s Choice Award, 2019. And more recently the artist duo were finalist in the 2021 Spokane Arts Awards in the category of “collaboration”.

Moeckel’s artwork is included in numerous private art collections throughout the U.S. and internationally. Moeckel Studio is located in Spokane, Washington.