Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lori Rockwell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lori, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I do wish that I would have begun cultivating my artistic interests at a younger age.  As a kid these interests were not always encouraged, readily available, or financially possible.  Fortunately, people now seem to have more opportunities to cultivate individual passions.  Careers in the arts are not as uncommon today as they were when I was growing up.  I often wonder how far I could have gone with my artistic passions had the right opportunities been presented.  Life’s responsibilities have a tendency to get in the way of the things that bring us the most pleasure and feed our souls.  As a kid my grandmother would draw with me and really encouraged my artistic interests.  Growing up we didn’t have a lot of money so we would draw on used mail envelopes.  I feel that I would be a lot further along in my artistic ability had I met some of the people that are currently influencing me.  One major influence and help is my son Seth Young.  He is also an artist that focuses mainly on digital art.  We constantly critique each other’s work. Over the past two years I have noticed an improvement in my artistic ability which has really lit my desire to learn and improve.

Lori, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For the past several years I have been focusing on visual arts with a fondness for acrylic and watercolor painting.  I have also been successful with three-dimensional art or paper tole using my original paintings or using vintage paintings.  This particular style of art is very unique and time consuming, but the finished product is quite worthwhile.  It consists of making several quality prints of the same subject, cutting, shaping, edging, and layering to make the finished product stand out in 3-dimensional fashion.   Acrylic painting has become one of my favorite mediums to work with.  Western and cowboy images have a special place in my heart.  I most recently had my Double Arch acrylic painting accepted into the Central PA Festival of the Arts Images 2023 art show.  There were 374 artist submissions from across the state of PA and 51 were chosen for this prestigious show.  Watercolors are one of the first forms of painting that I became interested in and I find them extremely challenging.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had known about the wonderful artists out there. They have really inspired me and provided excellent instruction.  I have personally attended and watched artistic video lessons.  If I can learn just one thing from each video or presentation, then it is worth it.  Much of my learning was self-taught and I know that I have developed some bad habits.  I wish that I had a better understanding of the human and animal anatomies as well as the basic do’s and don’ts in composition.  Social media was not available in my early years, therefore making it difficult to seek out instruction and fellow artists.  Local art museums are a great resource and need more funding to help promote and encourage artists.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I guess my goal is to improve my abilities, as well as help others to enjoy painting as much as I do. Oil painting is the next goal in my journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: loribrooksrockwellart.com