Lies was born in Rotterdam and is based in Los Angeles since the 1950's. She has been a monochrome painter for decades and prefers the quiet side of life (except for some free jazz and indie rock). She began practicing Zen Buddhism in 1988 and she says though meditation has certainly informed her approach to painting, she tries to avoid the Zen clichés. The poetic nature of simple elements like texture and colour are very important in her work...and she often says: 'I like people to feel my paintings without touching them.'
