Lisa M. Mills

An emotional connection to nature and the world around us can be a powerful one: morning’s first light as it whispers across a marsh; the play between clouds and light after a passing storm; the majestic display of an egret in breeding plumage; a pathway sprinkled with sunlight. Lisa’s aim is to share this emotional connection through her work in color, mood, light and anticipation of what awaits us in the natural world. She regards this kinship to nature as the nascence of her desire to create art. She notes, “It is my refuge: a place of peace and wonder.” While landscapes are her primary focus, Lisa is also drawn to other subjects such as still life, particularly the play between dramatic light and the objects she paints.

Inspired by the Impressionist’s pastel works at the Musée d’Orsay years ago, Lisa pivoted away from colored pencil and pursued the medium of soft pastel. The immediacy and luminance soft pastel offers a means to reveal the emotion and connection derived from a scene. One of the more rewarding aspects about her work is seeing a collector connect with a scene on an emotional level. She shares, “Once I see that reaction from a viewer or collector, I know my work has purpose beyond my easel.”

Lisa studied and is trained as an illustrator, but credits her development and love of pastels to local artist, Robert Wortman, as well as nationally recognized master pastelists, Aline Ordman, Lyn Asselta, Alain Picard and Barbara Jaenicke for furthering her techniques and skills.

Lisa’s work has been on exhibit at the Carnegie in Covington, KY; the Eisemann Center (TX); The Ormond Art Museum and Gallery (FL); The Brea Art Gallery (CA); The Hudgens Center for Art and Learning (GA) and the Art League Gallery in Hilton Head, SC. She is a Signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, a Juried Member of the Pastel Society of America, as well as a member of the Southeastern Pastel Society and Pastel Society of South Carolina. She serves on the Board of the Art League of Hilton Head and is also an exhibiting member there.

She is represented by Pluff Mudd Gallery in Bluffton, SC. and resides in Hilton Head with her husband and two dogs, Sophie and Sammy.