Mother Earth Weeps as the World Fights for Life

watercolor & gouache, 16' x 16", 2025

As the world’s environmental demise grows by the day, Mother Earth weeps for us all.

I have always approached my practice with both innocence and defiance. Through expressive watercolors, an intentionally delicate medium, I attempt to portray the resilience and vulnerability of people navigating oppression and tyranny. I weave visual narratives — stories that flow through my figurative paintings about social, political and environmental issues, all under the umbrella of feminism. Having spent decades painting the struggles and resilience I continue to witness, I hope my paintings may inspire reflection, dialogue, and perhaps even a way to imagine a more compassionate, equitable future.

Seattle-based artist Li Turner creates evocative watercolor paintings that confront social issues with insight, humor, and emotional resonance. Turner’s paintings, though visually striking, are not simply decorative. The surface beauty is an entry point, inviting the viewer closer. It is through prolonged engagement that the layered narratives begin to unfold. Her paintings are human, and alive with the contradictions of our time. Turner’s work is held in the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, among others. She has exhibited across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia.