Although she did have an audience for her work, Spencer had difficulties earning a living as a professional painter and faced financial trouble for much of her adult life.

Rather than being scolded, Lilly was encouraged in her love of art by her parents, whose reformist tendencies—her mother was a follower of the Utopian advocate Charles Fourier—included a belief in more opportunity for women.

She continued to draw and her work was so impressive that "ladies and gentlemen began to call frequently at the farm, to judge for themselves of these vaunted pictures.

Their admiring comments stimulated her ambition and added to her industry; but the difficulty of procuring proper materials and the want of a competent teacher retarded her progress.

The second was Charles Sullivan (1794–1867) who had also studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; his influence is very apparent in the early work of Lilly Martin.

Martin's first exhibition in August 1841 was held at a church rectory, where she drew the attention of Nicholas Longworth, a benefactor of many artists.

Of Lilly Martin, Longworth said “…a new genius has sprung up at Marietta or rather within five miles of it, at a farm house in the shape of a French girl of 17 or 18 years of age.

By the time the Spencers arrived in New York "art patronage was firmly in the hands of the middle class which was eager to ‘purchase’ culture, and quick to assert their preference for scenes which they could identify.

Scholars have noted that due to the demand of the time Spencer was "able to combine her two roles, as artist and mother with a certain degree of success.

"[5] Her works were all positive and devoid of tragedy, depicting endearing scenes of domesticity; academics have commented that in this period "her paintings exude an enthusiasm and happiness reminiscent of seventeenth-century Dutch art…(and are) enhanced by a disarming gaze directly toward the viewer or his inclusion in a coy flirtation, tease, or practical joke.

Spencer continued to make portraits and commissions whenever possible, and still supported her family through her art, but money remained a problem.

[citation needed] She produced famous and perceptive works of art such as War Spirit at Home in 1866 and We Both Must Fade in 1869, which depicts a young female looking in a mirror.

The piece is divided in half; on one side a monstrous woman with a sheep's head is about to devour a helpless babe in its grasp, and at its feet a figure with a grossly deformed hand pays homage.

The image is divided by Truth, an angelic blond figure who lifts a cloak (Falsehood) off the monster exposing the woman-as-beast, referred to as Selfishness.

[8] She had a career that spanned more than 60 years, and painted portraits of influential people of the time, such as First Lady Caroline Harrison and the suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

She persevered despite financial turmoil and facing challenges that all artists must address, as well specific difficulties for a female working in a male-dominated world.

Her themes were drawn from close to home often depicting idealized children, Madonna-like mothers, happy housewives, and loveable, inept husbands.

[4] She was often influenced by etiquette books, which resulted in attention to details in the settings such as bowls of fruits and neatly designed flower arrangements.

[9] Painted in a palette of bright, crisp colors, her canvases are refined in execution and smoothly finished, although in later years her brushstrokes became drier and looser.

The piece shows a buxom woman making dough in a homey kitchen adorned with domestic accommodations, such as a bowl of apples, and a chicken.