artist feature: lori earley

lori, thank you for participating in my humble artist feature!

i first discovered lori earley's art while browsing online.  she was one of many pop surrealist artists with the likes of  mark ryden, caia koopman, sas and colin christian, and ray caesar, whose art, i adore .  she easily became one of my favorites ever since.  

i've painted in different mediums and i find that oil paints are the most difficult to manipulate and  time-consuming to work with.  that is why i have so much admiration and appreciation for her art.  most of her work draw you in with its dark, mysterious beauty, and its intricate detail.  i was so devastated when some of her work was stolen at a couple of shows in 2008.  luckily, they caught the thief, but two drawings are still missing... here's is one of them (please contact her, if you have any information):

"the awaiting"

lori really wanted to answer the questionnaire for my artist feature, but she is so busy working on new projects.  when i contacted her, she replied almost instantly, and even took the time out of her hectic schedule to view my blog.   although she is unable to answer my interview questions,  i'm so honored that she took the time to recognize her fans and share her wonderful art with us.

"one"

lori earley grew up in rye, new york, and lived there until she was 19.  she studied at the school of visual arts in new york city to nurture her talent.  the materials she uses for her work are oil paints, wood panels, ultra-smooth linen, graphite, and bristol board paper.

"leila"

she started showcasing her work back in 2004.  she got her first publication from juxtapose magazine (they put "the hunter" on the cover), and her first solo show was at roq la rue gallery in seattle.

 "the hunter"

she spends a lot of time working on her paintings.  each of her paintings could take anywhere from 1 to 6 months before it is finished, and she paints for about 14 hours a day!  the time and dedication she devotes to her work make her the artist that she is.  it is no surprise that she receives tremendous accolades for her mastery in oil painting. 

"the pinnacle"

here are the steps she takes to produce a final painting:

• an idea
• a sketch of the composition
• choosing a model
• finding a costume and proper lighting for the mood of the painting
• a photo shoot, shot by herself
• a final line drawing from the photo
• transfering the drawing onto the board
• making 5 to 6 under-paintings
• building up the paints from dark to light
• painting the frame with color accents to match each painting

"belladonna"

she prefers not to explain what each painting means, and wants each viewer to interpret it in their own way.  she uses symbolism and clues to express herself in her work.  she also mentions, that the "distortions in her painitngs comes from her innate desire to transform her emotions to tangiable planes that express what she feels, not what she sees."

"the cocktail hour"

lori early is influenced by artists, music, movies, books, and fashion.  "the wish" is one of her favorite paintings - it has over 1000 dandelions on it!  she also likes "drained" and "ms. v".

   "the wish"

 "drained"

"ms. v"

she advises any aspiring artist to be dedicated and practice a great deal of self-discipline to succeed in this industry.  she also says that any job has its downsides, but the sense of fulfillment in doing what you love - is the upside of being an artist!

you can find more of lori's recent work on the following websites:

• www.loriearley.com
• www.facebook.com/pages/Lori-Earley/47533760029
• www.myspace.com/loriearley
• www.flickr.com/photos/loriearley

"lee, the pink sheep"

i hope you enjoyed lori earley's art!   i visit her website daily, so that i could be inspired, maybe you should too!

a quick note for all the readers of this post:  

i would like to ask you to respect the artist who created these wonderful pieces.  please contact lori earley for permission, if you wish to re-post any images on your blog or any photo sharing websites.  each image is copywritten and watermarked to avoid any illegal distribution or reproductions.

thank you for your co-operation!

references:  lori earley's bio, press and faq's sections;  hi-fructose magazine (vol. 5, 2007); juxtapoz (2007)