We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lori LaMont. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lori below.
Hi Lori, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
As a self taught artist I learned by copying. It always felt like fun and play and it was just how I enjoyed spending my time. Art books, comic books, the tv guide were all fair game. Somehow we had a lot of vintage school books with great pictures that my brother and sister and I poured over for years. When my mom took us to museums I’d be wracked with personal important questions such as, “so, did the artist actually drop that smear of paint… on purpose?” and “what made the artist choose this color over all the others?”. So many Why’s and How’s. Copying gave me glimpses into how a pencil or a brush might be held, always different depending on the artist/genre and how serious the artist was about precision or whimsy. And I probably sketched the house across the street from me a thousand times! Paint-by-numbers was fascinating because you could see a puzzle come to life like nothing else. I wouldn’t change a thing. I didn’t learn rules, so I didn’t have to unlearn them. I made my own, which I can, and do, change as I continue to learn. I believe this has given me the confidence I have in my own “vision” for lack of a better word! 
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born and raised in San Pedro, California and now live across the bridge in Long Beach. My earliest memory of painting is when I was three years old. I was given one of those little watercolor sets and remember specifically being amazed by the purple. My twin sister and my brother and I spent almost of our down-time drawing and coloring. We were never without supplies. when we ran out of wall space we cut up our artwork and layered the pieces into the existing art to great amusement. I always asked for art supplies for birthdays and Christmas and eventually I just gravitated toward watercolor. I like the challenge of not being able to make mistakes. I didn’t go to art school, I actually didn’t know there was such a thing until late in my senior year in high school! I taught myself. I copied what interested me and figured out problems as I went along. I think what sets me apart is, though I use only watercolor, my paintings don’t follow any kind of watercolor tradition. What excites me is bold but pared down composition, the challenge of not making mistakes because mistakes are not allowed in watercolor media. It’s unforgiving and really thrive in that danger zone. I love the bold and saturated colors, sharp lines, and precision. My pieces are mostly very large scale and focus on the pageant of life through a sort of spectacular lens.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
My resources are all over the place. Cartoons were the first inspiration. Old cartoons from the 1930’s and onward. Classic movies are a staple and art books are to be devoured. I’ve always been a magazine junkie, especially fashion magazines. I probably spend too much time on Instagram but I cherish the opportunity to look at other artists work. I marvel and gaze and feel utterly inspired by them. I feel full throttle anxiety hoping my big break is coming next! Ha!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I first started to paint with seriousness, I used the kitchen table. My goals got bigger as my need for better paint and bigger paper grew. I graduated to the dining room table and then to a spare bedroom that became my studio. When my husband and I bought our home, we had one of the garages torn down and had my studio built. It’s a dream come true. During the covid quarantine I gave up my studio and turned it into an apartment for my nieces. I was back at the dining room table struggling to find proper lighting and downsizing my work. I started to do quick watercolor sketches of my time in quarantine. They’re small and fast and so satisfying. I hadn’t taken the time to do that kind of thing since I was a kid. I not only loved doing them, but they taught me a lot about not being hyper serious in my approach to painting. I’m still doing them and I’m having even more fun with them as time goes on. It’s become part of my practice. It feels wonderful to be back in my studio and now I’m just trying to figure out the best way to store my work! 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lorilamont.com
- Instagram: lorilamont1
Image Credits
Lori laMont