Lisa Cicalese McMillen

Artist Statement

Lisa Cicalese McMillen is a contemporary artist living and working in Ocean City, New Jersey. With a B.S. in Fashion Design from Drexel University, Lisa began her creative career designing wedding gowns and children’s clothing, where her attention to detail and passion for personal storytelling were first expressed through fabric, form, and function.
Her artistic journey expanded into interior design, where she contributed to Designer Showhouses and worked closely with clients to create custom bedding, window treatments, and beautifully curated living spaces. This led her naturally into decorative painting and mural work, founding Cica Lisa Designs—a business dedicated to transforming homes and commercial spaces across the Philadelphia area. For over 20 years, she created more than 200 custom murals, theater sets, liturgical artworks, and furniture pieces, always guided by her clients’ stories and personal aesthetics.
Today, Lisa is turning the page and focusing more intentionally on her fine art practice. Her current work explores art as a reflection of faith and nature, recognizing the Divine as the original creator. Inspired by the natural world and the sacred feminine, Lisa’s figurative and landscape paintings are rich in symbolism, texture, and spiritual resonance.
Her process, much like her life philosophy, embraces intuition and transformation. “You begin with a vision,” she says, “but you leave room for the unexpected—that’s where the magic and meaning happen.”
Lisa remains open to commissions and collaborations and hopes her evolving body of work brings depth, beauty, and connection to those who experience it.