Bio
b. 1987
Alyssa is an artist and abstract painter based in Atlanta GA. Originally a Florida native, her work is heavily inspired by nature and water, exploring themes of perspective and gentle movement. With simplicity and sustainability in mind, she works predominately with watercolor on paper, raw fabric and wood panel, occasionally experimenting with other fluid mediums.
Her visual art background began at a young age, immersing herself in as many exhibitions and studies her art class would allow. Her design background began in fashion journalism in NYC, after earning a BFA in Design & Marketing in 2009. She spent a decade working in the apparel industry as a technical illustrator for menswear, trend reporting, technical design in the women’s lifestyle apparel space and a product development lead for private firms and brands. This foundation of design became the early framework through which she approaches her painting practice today.
She began painting in 2020, originally focusing on impressionistic landscapes. Her work has been showcased in online spaces and has been commissioned to collectors. After a season of rediscovery she started building a body of work showcasing whimsical mark-making and fluid compositions that you see in her work today..
Her work invites the viewer to pause and examine the details in nature that are often overlooked. Exploring the world in this way tells a story of transformation that describes what so many of us go through.
Artist Statement
I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember, always exploring artistic techniques and mediums at an early age. Georgia O’Keeffe once said, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” I resonate deeply with this.
My career in product development has shaped the groundwork in how I create. Developing collections through ideation, innovation, and color theory reminds me of the direct correlation between storytelling and design. But what I found was missing was play. After being in corporate design I realized I lost my creative voice. It wasn’t until 2025, after a difficult season of transition and loss, where I found myself painting again with child-like creativity. Through sheer play and catharsis I rediscovered my creative point of view. I decided to show up with no expectations, leaving ego at the door and made space for inspiration and new techniques. Ideas were flowing back into my mind and through my hands faster than I could keep up with. It was exactly what I needed most in that season of my life. I think many people can relate to this rediscovery.
I’m influenced by the fluid shapes and lyrical gestures of Helen Frankenthaler’s work, and the magnified abstraction and vibrant colors in Georgia O’Keeffe’s early work. There’s beauty and freedom in playing with perspective this way and ditching the concept of mimicking exactly what you see. This theory has become a freeing form of expression in my work.
Originally a Florida native, with parents both raised on an island, I’ve always felt a pull to water and nature. It feels fitting that I find myself working so freely with it. There have been many transformative moments in my life that have involved bodies of water in some way. I grew up near beaches, spent countless summers at the lake with the man I would eventually marry, (and eventually say “I do” on that same lake), and now, spending as much time as we can with our children on the lake where we live. Water can be reckless, powerful, a strong collection of many pieces; calm and also untamed. I can relate to all of these attributes. It tells a beautiful story of transformation. when you pause and take the time to notice. I hope to tell these stories through my work, the best way I know how.