If you have ever stood at the edge of the ocean and felt encompassed by something larger than yourself, you already understand Lisa Smith's paintings. That feeling has been the driving force of the subject of her work, even when the canvas shows no water at all.  

 

She grew up in New England, and as a child she visited her aunt and uncle's cottage at Moody Beach, Maine. The cottage had character: exposed studs on the walls, a delightful collection of bizarre hats and a mantle lined with shells, sea glass, and rocks gathered on morning walks.  But it was the beach itself that left a sense of awe that remains to this day. The vast open water and the sound of the crashing waves was magical. She has since moved to the Connecticut coast, where she lives and works today.

 

Her artwork spans abstract expressionism, abstract seascapes, and reverse glass paintings. She describes herself as a surrogate: the work is birthed through her rather than made by her. 

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Lisa holds a BA in Studio Arts from Trinity College, Hartford, CT, and studied Studio Art in Florence, Italy. She also holds an MA in Counseling from the University of Dayton and spent years teaching art in private, public, and boarding schools throughout New England. Her work is held in private collections across the United States and abroad, including in Tokyo, Manhattan, Boston, Nantucket, Greenwich, Los Angeles, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.​​