Lisa M. Shimko’s paintings reveal the influences of sundry research topics, old memories, and daydreaming. Growing up in York County, Pennsylvania, Shimko spent her childhood collecting rocks and exploring the terrains of forests and farms. Colors, forms, and textures from nature and the simple designs of Pennsylvania German folk art infused the foundation of her artistic aesthetic. In 1994, Shimko earned a BFA in painting with a minor in art therapy from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. The urban landscapes of the Northeast supplied a different kind of nature for her to explore—architecture, social issues, history, and all the music in between. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, became Shimko's home in 2000. Its subtropical estuaries added a new chapter to her aesthetic book. Childhood memories of hills, forests, fields, northeastern cities, and the southern coast compelled an ongoing exploration of environmental issues. The beauty of her surroundings intertwines with topics ranging from endangered animals and climate change to anthropology and informs her art. Aspiring to reflect and feed the varied natures of the muses and parts of the brain, Shimko paints multi-colored painterly abstracts with honed animals imbued with an allegorical curiosity. After calling Charleston, South Carolina home for 12 years, Shimko recently relocated to the Appalachian foothills of Greenville, South Carolina, where new explorations have begun. Her art still has a home in Charleston at Mitchell Hill Gallery.