How Does Landscape Become Memory in Lee Mohr’s Paintings?
This conversation with painter Lee Mohr offers a window into the way she sees and works through the lens of landscape, memory, and quiet observation. Her paintings begin with a sense of place, shaped by early years surrounded by Alaska’s wild beauty and a lifelong connection to the natural world. In the interview, Mohr talks about how those early experiences continue to guide her use of colour and movement, and how each painting carries the rhythm of the land that inspired it.
She explains that her process is a mix of planning and intuition. Some paintings come together in a few months, while others linger for years until the idea behind them finally feels complete. She also shares how her studio practice offers a calm counterpoint to the pace of everyday life. Long walks, time in nature, and meditation help her stay grounded so she can return to the canvas with focus and ease.
Mohr reflects on how different paths of study, sculpture, fine art, and design all weave into her painting process. Before starting a new series, she writes about what she wants to express, then translates those ideas through composition, form, and layers of oil glazes that slowly build into subtle, textural landscapes.
Through the interview, we come to know an artist who works with both discipline and instinct, letting each painting find its own balance. Mohr’s connection to the Pacific Northwest and the quiet energy she finds there echoes through her work, as does the influence of Sumi brushwork and the Mystic Painters who sought harmony between spirit and place. By the end, it’s clear that her paintings grow from a lifelong conversation with nature — one built on patience, curiosity, and a steady search for harmony between the world around her and the one that emerges on the canvas.
Lee Mohr is a painter whose vision is centred in the landscape, and for whom the natural world offers a deep spiritual connection. While her work is often drawn from the 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 through their organisation of space and specific attention to textures, yet they also possess an otherworldly quality that transcends 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 invites you to immerse yourself in the visual poetry of our observable world.
1. You grew up surrounded by the wild beauty of Alaska. How do those early memories of being outdoors still find their way into what you paint now?
It takes development and time to realise how a place can influence creative energy. I am finally old enough to see the influence of place on my work. Alaska heavily influences my current body of work. I bring the energy of place to each painting through colour, shape and brushwork.
When I’m painting in my studio I’m in the flow; it’s a mental space where time disappears and I work instinctively until it’s time to put the brush down for the day.
Lee Mohr
2. Your paintings come together through both careful planning and a kind of instinctive flow. How do you know when a piece feels finished or when it’s time to let it go?
A painting is finished when I feel that the original concept is realised. It’s an intuitive process, but I instinctively know when the painting is completed. Some paintings will be finished in a couple of months, and then I have paintings that are years old that continue not to be realised as yet. I continue to work on those reluctant pieces.
3. The influence of Sumi brushwork and the Mystic Painters of the Northwest is present in your work. What is it about those styles that speaks to you and fits naturally with your landscapes?
The Pacific Northwest has a distinctive energy and landscape that spoke to the Mystic Painters and Japanese Sumi artists. I, too, am inspired by that same energy of quiet resilience and deep respect for the environment.
4. Having your first solo show at just eight years old is pretty incredible. How did that early start shape your confidence or your sense of direction as an artist?
Painting and exhibiting my work at a young age allowed me to be free of restrictions, which developed my confidence. As I have aged, I do think that confidence ebbs and flows.
I bring the energy of place to each painting through color, shape, and brushwork.
Lee Mohr
5. There’s a calm and meditative feeling in your landscapes. What helps you hold onto that sense of quiet when you’re painting in such a fast-paced world?
When I’m painting in my studio, I’m in the flow. It’s a mental space where time disappears, and I work instinctively until it’s time to put the brush down for the day. Staying grounded with nature walks and a meditation practice helps me quiet my mind. I do my best to live a balanced life.
6. You’ve studied sculpture, fine art, and design. How do those different ways of creating come together when you’re working on a new painting?
When planning a new body of work, I’m thinking about the historical influences along with the elements and principles of design. My first step towards a new body of work is writing about how I feel about a subject and how I can express those feelings through technique and colour to express the essence of the landscape.
Lee Mohr’s paintings are about finding harmony between the landscape and the quiet space within. Through her layered oil glazes and thoughtful compositions, she captures the rhythm and stillness of nature in a way that feels grounded and true. Her work shows how a lifelong connection to place, from the vast, open spaces of Alaska to the calm energy of the Pacific Northwest, can shape how an artist sees and creates.
What we learn from Mohr’s journey is that painting is as much about patience and awareness as it is about skill. Each piece carries the time she spends observing, thinking, and letting intuition guide her hand. Her story reminds us that art grows from paying attention to the world around us and allowing that experience to take form slowly, layer by layer.
To learn more about Lee, visit the links below.
