Lori Fowler

Artist Bio

Lori Fowler is a Midwest artist painting in her home studio located in Edina, Minnesota. Her art is inspired by the vibrant colors found in the natural world.

Lori’s art journey began in high school, which fortunately had a stellar art department. Her four years of high school art honed her drawing skills in realism, thus sparking her love of portraiture. In college, Lori earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s in Child Development. This led her into the field of early childhood education and away from art all together. It was not until 20+ years and four kids later when she would rekindle her passion for fine arts and begin a consistent creative practice.

As a self-taught artist, Lori spends much of her studio time pushing the boundaries of conventional painting techniques. She likens her creative space to a scientific laboratory, answering the “what ifs” that propel her into trial and error mode. “When I see an effect painted in one media like oils, I immediately think about how I can achieve the same outcome with another media, such as encaustics.” Having a curious mind results in Lori working on several paintings at one time. Her studio was featured in the winter 2021 issue of In Her Studio magazine.

Encaustic wax, which is a mixture of beeswax and damar resin, has become her medium of choice. The ability to embed items, carve into and build texture with wax stimulates Lori’s artistic mind. “Not only are the possibilities of encaustic art endless, but I can also incorporate other media into my wax pieces.”

Lori’s art practice is currently focused on incorporating abstract elements with her representational subject matter. She is also exploring color palettes that are bold and unexpected.

My Creative Statement

Art is the path in which I will become the person I aspire. One who takes risks; no longer concerned with perfection and intense structure that has bound me for most of my life. I paint intuitively, without pre-conceived notions of my creative practice and its end products. While I enjoy realistic renderings in my pieces, I inject the unexpected through my color choices, my use of mixed media, and the fusion of abstract elements.

My artistic goal is to evoke a sense of awe and emotion within the viewer. Over the years, I found that encaustic allows me to best achieve this objective. While the act of painting with molten wax and fusing it with an open flame is already a wondrous method in and of itself, the luminous and tactile nature of the medium adds intrigue.

My creations often begin as a spontaneous background filled with scribbles, hue-laden shapes, collage and/or repetitive marks. This abstraction is further developed with translucent wax and pigment, transformed through moments of heating and cooling. Hidden layers are scraped back to reveal the history of my process. Textures are built up to create dimensional interest. If necessary, paper and objects are embedded within. Eventually the perfect subject matter finds its way onto the panel. This sweet moment of kismet is unforced, unplanned, and, at times, take months to occur.

The world of encaustic is almost limitless in its application and manipulation. I have only begun to scrape the surface of how far my art can go. When I enter my studio my mind whirs with ideas. My heart beats with equal parts excitement and trepidation as I bravely bare my soul onto my painting, ready for the challenges and successes that my unbridled exploration brings.

In my mind I can see where my art is headed. While I long to achieve my lofty goals as soon as possible, I am aware that the journey is more important than the destination. I know that my artistic voice, process, and techniques will develop and change with time. I am honored that you are here to witness my artistic evolution and invite you to stay a while!