Lee Ghilain

Contemporary abstract artist · Cherokee Nation

I paint to remember how to see.

Paintings shaped by home, memory, faith and the changing ways we see.

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Fire Within36 × 36 in · Private Artist Collection

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Home isn’t always a place.

It can be a memory, a refuge, a prayer—or a way of seeing.

Paintings

A Sense of Home

Layered stories of belonging, sea, ancestry and light.

Walking in Sunshine, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Walking in Sunshine

24 × 36 inThat glorious feeling when the light finds you again.

Pull of the Sea, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Pull of the Sea

20 × 16 inNo matter how far I wander, the sea keeps calling me home.

Bayside, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Bayside

12 × 12 inBorn from the water that has always felt like home to me.

Fire Within, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Fire Within

36 × 36 inA reminder that what burns inside us does not disappear. Private Artist Collection

Where Strawberries Remember, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Where Strawberries Remember

24 × 12 inThe sweetness of childhood returning through a place I never stopped carrying. Private Artist Collection

Stretch of the Heart, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Stretch of the Heart

24 × 36 inThe heart stretches toward what it loves, even when it cannot reach it yet.

Rolling Tides, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Rolling Tides

36 × 36 inGenerations of our family live in the rhythm of this Texas water. Artist’s Collection · Not available

Water in My Soul, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Water in My Soul

12 × 12 inI can leave the shore, but the water always comes with me.

Floating Along, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Floating Along

12 × 12 inSome days ask only that we loosen our grip and trust the current.

Stars Above the Sea, an abstract painting by Lee Ghilain

Stars Above the Sea

12 × 12 inEven in the dark, there is always a light pointing home.

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Selected career highlights

Exhibitions & Recognition

Collection

Cherokee Nation

Permanent Collection

2026 Exhibition

D Contemporary

London, England

Recognition

Arts to Hearts

International Artist Award & 100 Emerging Artists

Award

Trail of Tears Art Show

First Place Emerging Artist

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About the artist

Painting by instinct, rhythm and feeling.

I am Lee Ghilain, a Cherokee Nation artist. Every painting begins with something I can’t quite say out loud.

Living with macular degeneration changed the way I paint. Instead of chasing perfection, I follow instinct—allowing color, texture and movement to lead the way.

My work is held in the permanent collection of the Cherokee Nation and in private collections in the United States and abroad.

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For collectors

When a painting feels like yours, let’s talk.

Ask about an available work, its story, scale, or how it might live in your space.

Email Lee