Exploring the process and purpose of Lee Mohr’s art

Artist Statement 

Lee Mohr is a painter whose vision is centered in the landscape, and for whom the natural world offers a deep spiritual connection. While her work is often drawn from experience of a particular place, Mohr’s creative process is one of distillation and refinement in the service of images that possess great clarity and harmony. The resulting work is a confluence of Mohr’s inner landscape and the natural world influenced by Sumi brushwork and the Mystic Painters of the Northwest. Her paintings maintain a link to reality in their organization of space and specific attention to textures, but they also possess an otherworldly quality that goes beyond surface appearances. A painting process that is a combination of both planning through drawings and intuitive spontaneity working in oil glazes and velaturas on canvas or panel to create subtle textural landscapes. As the landscape emerges from these multilayered surfaces Mohr would like you to be immersed in the visual poetry of our observable world.  

Abstract painting with flowing, curved streaks of blues, grays, black, and small touches of white and gold, resembling a stylized mountain or wave landscape.
Abstract painting with blue, gray, and black tones, depicting a mountainous landscape with a body of water beneath a cloudy sky.
Abstract painting depicting a coastal landscape with blue and gray tones, illustrating the ocean, waves, and sky.

“Painting is an unspoken and largely unrecognized dialogue, where paint speaks silently in masses and colors and the artist responds in moods.”

— James Elkins

Biography

American Artist, Lee Mohr, is known for otherworldly abstract landscapes inspired by the natural environment of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Alaska, Mohr has always been immersed in the natural world. Her early years included long family camping trips and solo time outdoors, which continue to inform the mood and palette of her work.

Lee held her first solo exhibition at the age of eight, where she sold every painting on display. She went on to earn a BFA in Sculpture from Western Washington University, an MLA in Fine Art and Business Management from Alaska Pacific University, and certifications in both Art Management and Interior Design. Throughout her career, she has studied with noted artists including Joan Kickbush, Keith Appel, George Bishop, and Samaj, and participated in collaborative and performance works under Judy Chicago and Lloyd Hamrol.

Her paintings have been featured in solo and group exhibitions across the U.S., including shows at Baas Art Gallery, the Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, and International Art Expo in Miami. Her work is held in both private and public collections, including Seattle Mortgage, Alaska Pacific University, and the Anchorage Loussac Library.

Now based in Seattle, Lee is focused on revitalizing her art practice with new intention - creating paintings that offer a place of quiet reflection in an increasingly busy world. Her work is designed to live with, to return to, and to make space for presence and peace.

Front view of a suburban house with brick and gray siding, three dormer windows, a well-manicured lawn, front bushes, and trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
Lee Mohr, Seattle-based abstract landscape artist, wearing glasses and a black shirt sitting on a wooden stool in her art studio, holding paintbrushes, with a partially finished dark blue painting on an easel behind her.
Assorted tubes and bottles of oil paint on a white wire grid shown from above.
Lee Mohr art studio with two easels holding dark blue abstract paintings, a white cart with art supplies, a wooden stool, a grey cabinet with art materials, a potted plant on a side table, and a window with blinds letting in natural light.
Paintbrush with blue paint on a white canvas, beside a container of dark blue paint and a tube of white paint, on a cluttered work table.
Lee Mohr art studio with two large canvases on easels, a small table with supplies, a rolling cart, and a newspaper-covered floor area.

Exhibitions

  • 2007  "Solace", Baas Art Gallery, Seattle, WA.

    2005 "Mirage", Baas Art Gallery, Seattle, WA.

    2003 "Contemplative Vistas", Baas Art Gallery, Seattle, WA.

    2002 "Messages", Art Forte, Kirkland, WA.

    2001 "Forbes Creek Reflections", Bailey Boushay House, Seattle, WA., Baas Art Gallery

    1999 "New Works", Meloy Gallery, Bellingham, WA.

    1998 "Paintings - A Journey", Meloy Gallery, Bellingham, WA. 

    1993 "Wild Environment", Kirkland City Hall, Kirkland, WA. 

    1992 "Waterfalls", Apt. Art Gallery, Seattle, WA.

    1991 "Trees", Metropolitan Tower East Gallery, Seattle, WA.

  • 2007 Upstream People's Gallery, Internet Gallery "Landscapes", Special Recognition Award

    2007 Arts West, West Seattle, WA., "Landscapes of Serenity"

    2006 Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA., Expressions Northwest Multi-State Juried Exhibit

    2003 International Art Expo, Miami, Florida

    2003 SunRiver Lodge Gallery, SunRiver, Oregon

    2002 Meloy and Company Gallery, Bellingham, WA. "The Landscape"

    1998 Baas Art Gallery, Seattle, WA., Holiday Annual Exhibit

    Berkley Public Library, Berkley, CA. "Temporary Quarters"

    1997 Johnson Gallery, Denver, CO., Mesa State National Juried Exhibit

    Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, Seattle, WA.

    1992 City Artworks at Pratt, Seattle, WA., "Faculty Exhibit"

    Friesen Gallery, Seattle, WA., "Annual Environmental Invitational"

    MIVAL Gallery, Mercer Island, WA.

    Christo's Invitational Umbrella International, Pasadena, CA.

    1991 Kirkland Art Center, Kirkland, WA., "Faculty Exhibit"

  • Bailey Boushay House, Seattle, WA.

    Cornish Art Institute, Seattle, WA.

    Preferred Mortgage, Seattle, WA.

    Seattle Mortgage, Seattle, WA.

    Anchorage Loussac Library, Anchorage, Ak.

    Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, Ak.

    British Petroleum, Anchorage, AK.

    SAFECO Insurance, Anchorage, AK.

Get in touch.

Whether you’re interested in available artwork, commissioning a piece, or simply have a question, I’d love to hear from you. Please use the form below to reach out for general inquiries, purchase details, or gallery and press requests.