My art practice is deeply connected to my background in the performing arts and my passion for the thrill of the hunt and connection. I am endlessly drawn to artifacts, discarded remnants, and ephemera from bygone eras. As a photographer and painter, I explore the fragments of memory and history that lie scattered around us, weaving them into my work. I believe there is a wealth of beauty and meaning to be found in unexpected places—objects, flora, and fauna that carry untold stories and spark emotional resonance.
My process combines photography, fine art pigment printing, and painting techniques. Many of my photographic series begin as composed still lifes that are collaged and transformed into surreal photographic illustrations. Recently, I’ve been layering paint, pastel, and ink over my photographs, further blurring the lines between the real and the imagined.
Recurring throughout my work is a sense of narrative—one that often evokes themes of memento mori and the ephemeral nature of beauty. Whether drawn from themes of transformation, fairy tales, hidden kingdoms, or mythic landscapes, I invite viewers into dreamlike worlds that echo both personal memory and collective imagination. Through this, I hope to awaken a sense of wonder and curiosity and encourage reflection on one’s own connection to the past and present—and the stories we tell ourselves.
Lissy Walker is a visual and performing artist based in Berkeley, California. Raised in a home alive with creativity—a piano in the kitchen, a painting studio in the garage, and a darkroom in the laundry room—she began making things and playing music at a young age. Her artistic training spans photography, graphic design, and painting at Berkeley City College; theater at UCLA and The Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC; and music at The California Jazz Conservatory.
Her multidisciplinary career has included work in fashion, costume design, and photo styling. She was a founding member of the "Home Team" at Home for Contemporary Theater and Art in New York City. As a performer, she has appeared on stage at The Public Theater in New York, American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, among many other venues.
Lissy’s visual art echoes the spirit of her musical work: intimate, layered, and evocative. As a jazz/folk vocalist, she recorded two critically acclaimed albums and was featured as Artist of the Month on WNYC’s Headliner series.
Her music explores themes of dreams, illusions, and emotional landscapes. These same themes appear in her visual practice, where she combines photography, pigment printing, collage, painting and embellishment to create lush, surreal imagery grounded in memory and transformation.
Her work has been featured in exhibitions across California, including Not Real Art’s Surrealistic Ball in Los Angeles, Refusés of the Bay at Voss Gallery/Metal Haus Gallery in San Francisco, the Jerry Adams Gallery in Berkeley, as well as Assembled and The Power of Color at the Chateau Gallery.
Listen to music by Lissy Walker. Wonderland and Life Is Sweet can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and the usual streaming sites.
Please visit her music website at:
Get in touch at lissywalker@gmail.com