Lisa Renee' Myers
Contemporary Abstract Mixed-Media Paintings
Lake Charles Louisiana

     With the certainties of our ailing environment, it is impossible not to be affected by global and local ecological concerns.  Environmental crises from coastal erosion to the threat to our nation's wetlands due to global warming are issues that have been deeply embedded in my thoughts since I was a child.  Growing up in an area that is densely populated with marshlands along with a unique species of wildlife, such issues have been long pressed as concerns to myself and our local community.  The Hurricanes that impacted our shorelines in 2005, have caused even greater concern.  Louisiana lost 217 square miles of its coast after Katrina and Rita.  The extent of loss from these storms is larger than the size of New Orleans itself.  Only 19 square miles of that land was recovered by the end of 2006.  In my opinion, it is necessary to bring awareness to these issues because they not only affect Louisiana residents, but other places and industries as well.  My paintings are not traditional images of our coastlines as seen from the land's edging.  They are atmospheric abstract paintings, reminiscent of landscapes and shorelines as seen from a bird's eye view or through new technologies, such as remote sensing and satellite imagery, and are mainly focused on expressing a sense of place or a mood or feeling.  They are loose representations of these images, but are more so reflections of my own mind including, the passion I feel for our environment and the issues that impact our local coastal community.  My techniques involve many different tools, from paintbrushes to palette knives, wire brushes to sandpaper, and many natural found elements such as sticks, rocks, sand, and wood chips.  The uses of these elements are for textural and ecological purposes.  The more found items I am able to make use of in my art, I believe, to some extent, decrease the amount of waste my personal global footprint will leave behind. In turn, maintaining the aesthetic beauty of our community.