The Jansen Art Center is pleased to welcome Lisa McShane for an exhibit of her work. The exhibit opens on March 11 and will be on display through May 28, 2021.

Artist Statement

Light is the main element in my paintings. I use layers of oil paint, wax, and resin, usually over linen, to create deeply luminous paintings of light and the way it falls on land and water. I want my work to breathe and to convey the beauty of our world, though I don’t paint an untouched landscape. My work includes our impacts: wildfire smoke, a road, the reflection of refinery lights, contrails.

I love to look at art: Jacob Lawrence’s compositions, George Inness’ paint handling, Sanford Gifford’s skies, and the way Brueghel abstracts his subjects. I see art not only as an essential conversation with people today, but with artists across the centuries.

My work is increasingly abstracted. I find I have less to say about specific places, and more to convey about the embrace of light on landscapes, whether I’m looking down at a reflection on a river or at a wide horizon line. My images often start with a photo, then are abstracted through rough sketches, then drawings, and finally, the layers of the painting.

Artist Bio

Lisa McShane is a painter of large, luminous landscapes. Her paintings are abstracted, layered, graphic and focused on light and the effect of light on the land and water.

One of her paintings was on exhibit in the American Embassy in Yemen and another is in the collection of the Washington State Governor’s Mansion in Olympia, Washington. Her studio is on Samish Island, where she shares 15-acres of forest with heron, bald eagles, owls, and deer.