Painting - McLean Fletcher

McLean is a self-taught figurative and abstract painter known for her unique portraits and statement pieces.

A storyteller at heart, McLean's paintings are narratives of her own journey and psyche, influenced by her studies of mythos and legend.

Sensual, spiritual, distinctly honest and greatly inspired by the Hero's Journey, these pieces follow a protagonist, Every Woman, through her birth, suffering, contradictions, growth, lovers and death.

She paints in oil, acrylic, watercolor and ink.

McLean has exhibited in galleries across the US, painted murals in Washington DC, Asheville NC, and Richmond VA, and illustrated two children's books. She was a 2016 recipient of Style Weekly's Women in The Arts award, and was a featured artist in Curatorial, Volume 2; Leaders in Contemporary Art, in 2018.

All artwork in the shop below is one-of-a-kind and can be shipped globally. Prints available upon request.

Contact her to commission your own artwork, or to book your own live event painter for private or corporate events.

ART SHOP

Letting Go, 48" x 24"

$3,300.00

Mixed media on canvas

48" tall x 24" wide

Letting Go continues the Hero's Journey, as Everywoman learns to release herself from control, and detach from both the material world and the desires of her heart, in search of abundance and peace. She sheds the fear and doubt as she falls into the beauty of uncertainty. A unique piece, hinting at the yin and yang, balanced in its duality of both calm and chaos.

Series: The Hero's Journey

Ego Death, 20" x 20"

$3,000.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas

20" tall by 20" wide by 1.5" deep

A painting of the hero's journey. After climbing a mountain, cutting her own head off, and killing worldly parts of herself, a woman faces a ladder she must now climb. Vibrant colors, deep questions, and both pain and beauty live on this modest canvas.

Series: The Hero's Journey

Exorcism of Doubt, 20" x 20"

$3,000.00

Mixed media (oil and acrylic) on stretched canvas.

20" tall by 20" wide by 1.5" deep.

Uncharacteristically dark, yet still hopeful, Exorcism of Doubt is a deeply personal piece for McLean. Fear and doubt are expelled like black tar from her mouth, mid scream. The contrast against the soft yellow and pretty periwinkle suggest beauty and hope in the future.

Series: The Hero's Journey

Becoming, 20" x 20"

$3,000.00

Mixed media on stretched canvas

20" wide by 20" tall by 1.5" deep

As violent as it is beautiful, the Hero's Journey is told clearly and deeply on this small canvas. The killing of darlings, the little deaths we must commit in order to change, and grow. The flowers in the background juxtapose the hard reality that death is never easy. but always fruitful.

Series: The Hero's Journey

Amor, 18" x 24"

$1,500.00

Acrylic on canvas

18" tall by 24" long by 1.5" deep

Sometimes love feels foreign, when we haven't allowed it in before. This personal, figurative, abstract poured out of the brush and onto the canvas. It begged to exist.

Series: In private

Th'inconstant Moon, 20" x 20"

$5,000.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas.

20" tall by 20" wide by 1.5" deep.

An intimate portrait of a lover. The moon echoes his own waxing and waning, and the title remembers Juliet's plea in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, "O swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon".

Series: In private.

Cassandra, or Clairvoyance, 40" x 20"

$1,950.00

Mixed media (oil and acrylic) on stretched canvas.

40" tall by 20" wide by 1.5" deep.

Named for the prophet Cassandra from greek mythology, the Trojan priestess cursed with the gift of foresight, this fiery piece can be described as vivid, inspiring, and empowering.

Series: Meliorism

Element: fire

Chakra exploration: third eye

*The sides of this painting are unfinished, as the paint splatter was too delicious to paint over.

35, or Shedding in the desert, 24" x 18"

$3,333.00

Acrylic on canvas

24" tall by 18" wide

A rebirth. Only death by burning would be fitting for a woman made from fire. Burnt and nearly beaten, forced to shed and regrow in the desert, this heroine emerges stronger and more certain as she forges on, into the chaos of the abyss.

Love Manifest, 36" x 36"

$3,888.00

Acrylic on canvas

36" tall by 36" wide

On the surface this is a portrait of lovers escaping the world. More deeply, this is a physical manifestation of love. The entire universe is a material representation of love, another word for god, which is immaterial in its original form. Both the lovers and the sky seen in the painting and the painting itself are love made manifest.

Young Hero, 40" x 30"

$1,500.00

Mixed media (oil and acrylic) on stretched canvas.

40" tall by 30" wide by 1.5" deep.

Young Hero is a portrait of a close friend of McLean's. This collaboration of model and artist tells the story of exhaustion the young black man in America faces. Here we witness a moment of meditation, as he leans on a window by his bed, building himself back up again.

Series: meliorism.

Thomasina, 48" x 60"

$5,000.00

Mixed media on stretched canvas.

48" tall by 60" wide by 1.5" deep

Named for the female protagonist in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia, Thomasina explores The Chaos Theory. The first in the In Private series, painted during quarantine in March of 2020, this piece examines each chakra and their response to the lockdown.

Series: In private

Morning, 20" x 20"

$1,500.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas.

20" tall by 20" wide by 1.5" deep.

A delicate and subtle figure painting, Morning plays with light using feminine hues and curves. A soft, small piece, with colors and form very pleasing to the eye.

Series: Nudes

The Kiss 24" x 18"

$750.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas.

24" tall by 18" wide by 1.5" deep.

The title is a nod to Klimt's famous The Kiss. The lovely and feminine piece tells a romantic, gentle story of love and tenderness.

Series: In private

Madonna, 24" x 36"

$2,900.00

Mixed media (oil and acrylic) on stretched canvas.

24" tall by 36" wide and 1.5" deep.

Madonna is named to honor all of the pieces sharing its title. Here we see a woman, haloed and divine, rising out of the waters of man, he is beneath her. The man feeds both sexually and literally off of her, and she looks down on him. A conversation piece; bold and unapologetic.

Series: In private

Tempt, 18" x 24"

$500.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas.

18" tall by 24" wide by 1.5" deep.

This painting, Tempt, captivates all who look upon it. Passionate and enticing, this piece is for those unafraid of love and life.

Series: In private

Sunburn, 24" x 24"

$300.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas.

24" tall by 24" wide by 1.5" deep.

This dramatic and alluring piece is highly contemporary in its use of messy brush strokes and saturated color contrast. Sexy and unabashed, Sunburn makes a bold statement.

Series: Nudes

Maryam, 36" x 36"

$2,050.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas.

36" tall and 36" wide and 1.5" deep.

This large figure painting is impressive in its brave application of the primary colors, blue, red, and yellow. The androgynous features and expression shift from masculine to female, from fatigue to resolve, challenging the viewer to bestow upon the face their own self.

Series: meliorism.

Meraki, 48" x 36"

$3,200.00

Mixed Media on stretched canvas.

48" tall by 36" wide by 1.5" deep.

Meraki means to put part of yourself into your creation. While most of McLean's pieces are self portraits, this dynamic statement piece, which includes a photograph or her at its center, is the most complex of the paintings she has made of herself. She captures the two karmic sides of herself in relation to her physical body, and also to the rest of the universe. The combination of text, photography, and oil and acrylic paint make for a truly interesting and impressive work of art.

Series: Meliorism

Alice, 24" x 18"

$2,250.00

Acrylic on canvas

24" tall by 18" wide

Whimsical and mysterious, this painting begs to be explored close up. The juxtaposition of the bright colors and flirtatious florals combined with the deep sadness within the eyes of the young woman bring questions to everyone who looks upon her.

Series: The Hero's Journey

August, 48" x 36"

$3,200.00

Acrylic on canvas

48" tall by 36" wide

A story from August, 2021, after a rare illness nearly took McLean's life. Lush with bright hues, this large abstract painting invites the audience to imagine a new narrative every time they look upon it.

Series: The Hero's Journey

Titania, 30" x 24"

$1,100.00

Oil on stretched canvas.

24" wide by 30" tall by 1.5" deep.

Inspired by the fairy queen of the same name from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, this richly textured oil painting is romantic, airy, and mesmerizing to the mind.

Series: Meliorism

Element: air

Chakra exploration: heart and solar plexus

Elevation, 40" x 30"

$2,600.00

Mixed media (oil and acrylic) on canvas

40" tall by 30" wide

A reflection of McLean's own spiritual journey, and a love story. Elevation tells of forgiving one's self, accepting the shadows from our past, inviting our mystic self to grow, and allowing love and romance back in to our lives, through the magic of invisible energy.

Series: In private

Azazello, 48" x 30"

$900.00

Oil on stretched canvas.

48" tall by 30" wide by 1.5" deep.

The companion painting to Ophelia, Azazello is a true statement piece on its own. Impressive in size, with bold, textured brushstrokes, this earthy and dramatic painting is named for a vampire in Russian folklore.

Series: Meliorism

Element: earth

Chakra exploration: root and sacral

Ophelia, 48" x 24"

$1,600.00

Mixed media (oil and acrylic) on stretched canvas.

48" tall by 24" wide by 1.5" deep.

This watery companion piece to Azazello is named for Shakespeare's doomed female counterpart to his Hamlet. This large statement piece is feminine, sensual, incredibly textured, and quite simply a work of art.

Series: Meliorism

Element: water

Chakra exploration: throat and crown

*The sides of this painting are unfinished, as the hand print was just too interesting.

Seshat, 36" x 36"

$550.00

Acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

36" tall by 36" wide by 1.5" deep.

Inspired by Seshat, the Greek goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing, as well as the third eye chakra, this piece evokes a sense of wonder and hope. The collective consciousness shared between all living creatures and elements largely influences McLean's work, and is seen most clearly in this grand, colorful piece.

Series: Meliorism.

Wanderer, 20" x 20"

$250.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas

20" tall by 20" wide by 1.5" deep

A colorful portrait of a nomad, lost in his mind, in nature, in music, in himself.

Faded, 20" x 20"

$300.00

Acrylic on stretched canvas.

20" tall by 20" wide by 1.5" deep.

An unassuming, sensual representation of the battle between technology and nature. The young woman clings to her phone as the world changes around her, enveloping her. The sacral and throat chakras are brought to our attention, asking important questions about what drives our need to express ourselves.

Series: Meliorism

Sanctuary, 24" x 24"

$1,400.00

Oil on canvas

24" tall by 24" wide

A dreamlike version of McLean's art studio in Washington DC, painted in shades of white. Incredibly textured and packed with camouflaged images from McLean's mind, Sanctuary is as much a retreat for the eyes now, as it was a retreat for her soul then.

Series: In private

Mother, framed 16" x 20"

$950.00

Pen and ink on paper.
8" x 10", and 16" x 20" with white frame (included).

A haunting piece, distorted and bold. The eyes of the mother and her child pull you in, as if asking to be released.

Her, 16" x 20"

$950.00

Pen and ink on paper.

8" x 10", and 16" x 20" with white frame (included).

A dramatic portrait figure study, Her pulls you in and doesn't let you go.

Dancer, 16" x 20"

$950.00

Pen and ink on paper.

8" x 10", and 16" x 20" with white frame (included).

Dancer is an enchanting and hopeful piece, combining nature with humanity. Hidden moments strewn together raise big questions for the audience.

Sample of sold artwork & illustrations