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Love, Hope, and Power

2 Minutes Read Time

Two wooden frame that hold two paintings surrounded by a red border. On the left, a black man with a blue beard and blue-and-purple locs looks to the right. He wears a teal shirt. On the right, a black woman with a red-and-orange afro looks to the left. She wears an asymmetric, orange shirt. The background of both paintings is blue with gray ellipses near their faces.
Universe Tribe Series, Odysseus Surveys Calypso’s Island, 2017 Acrylic, watercolor pencil, neocolor pastel, love, and daydreams on birch panel, 26 in. x 34 in.

Artist’s Statement

My methods have included forays into drawing, painting, murals, and cold-forged metalwork, and in 2015, I started making portraits on wood panel, using the grain to illustrate individuality and represent spirit. Through my portraits I examine what it means to be Black and queer. I find inspiration in natural materials, allowing the patterns of woodgrain to peek through the compositions, and I rarely use resources without a purpose. I hope to focus on celebrating the cyclical thread of life and stimulate eco-consciousness. I consider myself a visual anthropologist, using my curiosity to survey concepts that ultimately question notions of beauty and identity.

My making process is rooted in my experiences as a first-generation Caribbean American, child of divorce, and product of a transitory upbringing. I have a distance in my perspective of American history. In all mediums, I base design and composition on deep research and exploration of visual concepts. I begin by deciding on theme and what facet of a concept I want a piece to address. I work to create a mood through color and texture and then embark on the physical work of deciding a medium and substrate size. For murals or abstract works, sometimes these elements are decided for me, whether by the grain pattern in the wood, the size of the piece, or the specific environment in which the work will be exhibited.

While painting, I contemplate—this part of the process is therapy for me. The world fades back as I watch a composition come to life. Impermanence is important at this stage, as I anticipate letting go when the paint, water, and additives (colored pencils, graphite powder, spices, plaster, dirt) hit the painting surface. I relish opportunities to respond to the surface as it dries. I further modify work with woodburning, sanding, or layers of lightly tinted varnishes: materials that require vigilance as the artwork changes and transitions into its permanent state. I see these moments of action and waiting as much like the improvisational choreography of life.

Read more from Issue 20.2.

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A gray, wooden frame surrounds this piece. At the top is a piece of sheet music titled "7. We're Sharing this Planet." In front of the sheet music, is a colorful flower that has the music imprinted on its petals. The stem of the flower is made out of dried plants, and a piece of paper with words around it wraps around it. The flower looks like it grows out of a blue, white, and gray-colored ground. Underneath the ground are a few thin, wooden panels, and then a red background. The roots of the flower are brown and black, and in a half-circle shape.
Art Unbound series, Colloquy, A Protean Bloom, 2019 Book paper, sheet music, copper leaf, tea, dried greenery, recycled sponge, wood, cork, acrylic, 24 in. x 12 in.
A flower is protected in a glass case shaped like a dome with a wooden bottom. The flower's petals are made of book paper, and its center is made of orange beads. The stalk and leaves of the flower are made of dried plants, and a strip of sheet music wraps around it. The flower emerges from a black piece of raw clay.
Art Unbound series, Photosynthesis Conversing With Eternity, 2019 Japanese handmade paper, book paper, sheet music, wood, glass dome, dried greenery, black tea, copper leaf; ceramic form by Cat Sheridan, 10.5 in. x 5.5 in.
A black woman with a black afro is smiling and clasping her hands to her chin, biting her left pointer finger. She has white lillies in her hair. Green waves radiate from her hands.
Universe Tribe series, Laughing From My Heart Center, 2015 Graphite, neocolor, love, and power on birch panel, 12 in. x 16 in.
A painting of a black person with a blue hair that is half-shaven on the left side. They have a blue nose ring, lip ring, and eyeliner that matches the blue of their hair. They wear a light-green, button-down t-shirt with a white, pink-and-blue-striped tie. In the background and near the bottom right are some tropical leaves. The entire scene has a yellow-ish hue with some yellow sparkles.
Universe Tribe series, I Believe In You, 2019 Watercolor pencil, neocolor pastel, graphite powder, acrylic, love, hope, and power on wood panel, 12 in. x 16 in.
A painting of Audre Lorde, who was an American writer and poet known for her activism with the LGBTQ+ community and civil rights. She is a black woman with short, black hair and brown eyes. She is smiling, raising her chin slightly, and standing in front of a blue background. She wears an orange shirt.
Odes series, Audre, 2020 Watercolor pencil, neocolor pastel, graphite powder, acrylic, love, hope, and power on wood panel, 24 in. x 16 in.
Two wooden frame that hold two paintings surrounded by a red border. On the left, a black man with a blue beard and blue-and-purple locs looks to the right. He wears a teal shirt. On the right, a black woman with a red-and-orange afro looks to the left. She wears an asymmetric, orange shirt. The background of both paintings is blue with gray ellipses near their faces.
Universe Tribe Series, Odysseus Surveys Calypso’s Island, 2017 Acrylic, watercolor pencil, neocolor pastel, love, and daydreams on birch panel, 26 in. x 34 in.
On a background of yellow, blue, and green are three copper rings. The smallest ring is on the upper-middle-left, and seems to be hanging by a tac. The other two rings are larger and linked together, on the lower-middle-right. Over these two rings are three, straight lines of copper wire, and more that extend toward the left.
Dappled Light, Dappled Memories, 2021 Latex, cold wax, oil paint, copper, steel, sunlight, and wistful memories on wood panel.
An abstract landscape on a hanging piece of canvas. The sky is blue and gray with white speckles. The horizon line fades into yellow. It looks as though there are powerlines in the distance to the right. The foreground is dark gray, with a yellow, a gray, and a black splotch at the bottom.
Though Ragged, We Endure, 2021 Latex, copper, aluminum, graphite, determination, tenderness, and ancestral dignity on canvas, 60 in. x 48 in.
A woman with a curly, black, pixie-cut, smiling and reaching toward the camera. She stands in front of a purple background and wears a black t-shirt.

Lisa McLymont

identifies as a multi-hyphenate creative who expresses herself through visual art, graphic design, and social-justice advocacy. She is a founding board member of the Returning Artists Guild and of Black, Out, & Proud and a member of the Columbus Public Art Commission. Her work has appeared in both group and solo exhibits in the Central Ohio region.

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