Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa McAuley.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Lisa McAuley is an eighth-generation native Houstonian, award-winning artist, and storyteller whose work is as colorful and unforgettable as the life that inspires it.
Lisa’s artistic journey began as a form of art therapy after surviving three strokes. What began as a way to heal became a powerful passion and a new way of communicating with the world. Today, her art reflects resilience, memory, nostalgia, humor, and the complicated beauty of surviving life’s unexpected storms.
Known for her bold use of color and her love of all things nostalgic, Lisa draws inspiration from the vibrant energy of the 1980s and the memories of growing up in Houston. She often incorporates recycled and vintage materials into her mixed-media work, giving forgotten objects a second life and transforming them into pieces that invite viewers to look closer, remember, and feel.
Her art is deeply personal. As she navigates the challenges of Lewy Body Dementia and mixed dementia, creativity has become more than a passion—it is a lifeline. Lisa uses her art to document her journey, express the emotions that words sometimes cannot capture, and explore the changing relationship between memory, identity, and self.
Her work has received several awards, and she is a member of The Woodlands Art League and the Conroe Art League. Lisa is currently a resident artist in Art Machine Gallery in The Silos. (She was also one of the original artists when Art Machine first opened 7 years ago), making her return to the creative community especially meaningful.
Lisa describes her art as an experience—one filled with color, memories, laughter, and unexpected details. Her work invites viewers to take a walk down memory lane while reminding them that even the most difficult chapters of life can still be transformed into something beautiful.
Through every brushstroke, recycled treasure, and layer of paint, Lisa McAuley continues to prove that art can heal, preserve memories, tell the truth, and keep the spirit alive.
Lisa McAuley Art — Creating beauty from memories, resilience, and the pieces life leaves behind.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Yes, my journey has been difficult—there’s no other way to describe it. I’ve known blessings that brought me to my knees, and I’ve lived through hell that I wasn’t sure I’d survive. There were times I lost pieces of myself along the way. But somehow, I’m still here.
And I believe that’s not an accident.
My faith carried me when I didn’t have the strength to carry myself. So I don’t look at my life and only see what I’ve lost. I look at what I’ve survived, what I’ve learned, and the fact that I’m still here to tell the story.
For that, I am deeply, unbelievably grateful.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
What I’m most proud of is that I didn’t let what happened to me become the end of my story. I turned it into my art.
I create from places most people are afraid to go—the pain, the memories, the scars, the things that changed me. My art isn’t just something I make; it’s something I live. Every piece has a heartbeat, a story, and a part of me in it.
What sets me apart is that I’ve learned to find beauty in broken places. I take the things that tried to destroy me and give them another life through creativity.
I’m not trying to create perfect art. I’m trying to create honest art. And when someone looks at one of my pieces and feels something, remembers something, or realizes they’re not alone—that’s when I know I’ve done what I was meant to do.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
If God willing ( “dancing Lewy Body Dementia”) I’m still here 10 or 15 years from now, my hope for the art industry is simple: I want to see people support local artists with the same excitement and loyalty they give the big-name brands.
I also hope we create more opportunities and accessibility for disabled artists—to participate in shows, attend exhibitions, and continue sharing our work without our limitations becoming barriers.
And I’d love to see more creative ways to bring visitors into our beloved city, perhaps even tour buses coming through places like Sawyer Yards, giving people the chance to discover the incredible local artists who make Houston so special.
I hope the future of art is more inclusive, more accessible, and remembers that sometimes the most powerful art comes from the people who had to fight the hardest just to keep creating.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artmachinegallery.com/lisa-mcauley/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisamcauleyart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19hycLFLzZ/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/LisaMcAuleyArt
