Today we’d like to introduce you to Adri Norris.
Hi Adri, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As an artist, I have been doing this my whole life. You know how they used to put crayons, glue and scissors on the back to school shopping list in elementary school? Well, I just never stopped buying those things. I developed a passion for portraiture in high school and haven’t looked back since.
It wasn’t until I graduated from the Art Institute of Colorado that I officially started my business. I went from being a freelance graphic designer to a freelance portrait painter to a freelance mural painter. My work painting women in history has proven to be the most fulfilling and I hope to continue doing it for as long as I’m able.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to success has been anything but smooth. It has been full of potholes, roadblocks, cul-de-sacs and whatever other example that fits the metaphor.
I have had clients stiff me on payments, projects that fell through at the last minute, long periods of inactivity and no work, and challenges navigating the ever-changing landscape that is social media in an effort to find work and make sales.
That said, I have been grateful to the people in my life who have recognized my skills and my vision and have referred me to those with the money to pay for my services. Networking has been absolutely vital to the heights I have reached so far. To return to the road metaphor, sometimes the uphill takes more effort that I would like to put in, but once I’ve reached the top, coasting downhill or on flat land is much more manageable.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have been creating artwork about women in history since 2016. Choosing such a narrow niche felt like a gamble at the time, but man, has it paid off. I have created dozens of portraits of women who influenced the world in ways big and small and have learned a great deal about them in the process. I must have been doing the right thing at the right time because I have gotten to do some very cool things over the years. I have showed my work in two museums, painted murals all around the Denver Metro Area, shipped work off to DC and met some phenomenal individuals.
I have two highlights from my years in this pursuit. The first was the massive street mural I painted of Ruth Bader Ginsburg after her passing. The folks at History Colorado messaged me directly to commemorate the trailblazing Supreme Court Justice in a 1296 square foot mural over the course of three days. The 150 volunteers who came out helped me to block in the letters of her initials, while two of my friends helped me to paint her portrait. I had to hire a drone operator to take photos throughout the project to help me maintain the proportions.
The second highlight was getting to meet Jenifer Lewis, also known as the Mother of Black Hollywood. She was the keynote speaker for an event through the Colorado Black Health Collaborative back in 2018. I was asked to create a piece for the silent auction and Ms Lewis felt like the perfect subject. I went out and got her memoir The Mother of Black Hollywood, read it through and took notes on the events she seemed to highlight in her book. It was these events that I included in the portrait. Well, she saw it when they were touring the event space. She fell in love with it and asked to meet me. At the VIP meet and greet, she told me that she put her blood sweat and tears into that book and that I had captured all of it. That night, when her performance was over, she announced to the crowd that she would be taking that piece home with her. Swoon!!!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
The older I get, the more I realize that connection makes me happy. I love spending time with my partner, sharing stories with my family, playing capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian martial art which I have been practicing for 18 years) and dancing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.afrotriangle.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/afrotriangle
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/afrotriangle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZQIoJM8qcfga6n4lg9f7TA
Image Credits
Head shot – History Colorado
RBG Mural – James Casey
All other photos are by me.