Thomas Merton said, “Art is where we find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” This is so true for me - I always find myself when I am immersed in nature, surrounded by a distinct landscape - taking it in and expressing my experience of it through my art.

I’ve been exploring the landscape as a subject for so long - since I first moved from New York to New Mexico - and throughout my travels from Arizona to California, into the high desert plateaus and along the Pacific Coast. The feelings I have when I see the vast blue sky and puffy white clouds in New Mexico that go on forever; the Pacific Ocean with waves that come in and out in an eternal rhythm; a golden California valley, with knee-high grass that sways in harmony with the wind, punctuated by ancient oaks on the horizon - these experiences continue to captivate me and fuel my soul. And I translate these experiences into my work. The overall effect of my artwork is one of freeform expression, one that provokes a momentary human experience of wonder, and awakens an inner life.

The natural world has an infinite power to widen our perspective and connect us to something greater than ourselves. My work is rooted in nature, and through my work, I endeavor to convey a deeper awareness of this connection. Nature at its essence is an experience of the Divine - a vibrant tangerine sunset illuminating a cerulean sky reflected in the indigo ocean, or a rainbow that appears momentarily over steel grey mountains in a winter storm - capturing our full attention. This experience of the transcendent is a universal truth that we can all identify with - regardless of where we are individually on our life’s journey – and it brings us closer to ourselves and to each other.

In this busy world, many of us long for that feeling we experience when connected to the vastness and beauty of the natural world. We retreat to nature to find ourselves and connect with each other. So when we go back to ‘regular life’ we are refreshed, restored, reconnected with all that matters in the world. Our life. Our loved ones. The truth. That’s what I express in my paintings. And that is the effect I want my art to have, the experience I want my paintings to offer to my collectors when they live with my art in their lives. My art is a momentary meditation for daily life, one that continues to feed the soul.

— Lisa Miller, Artist