portrait

Lori Earley

contemporary surrealist figurative artist
loriearley.com

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Interview

March 2006 / November 2009

Tell us a little bit about your background? Where are you from originally?
I grew up in Rye, New York, and lived there until I was 19. It was a small town with nothing really to do there, but I did live right down the street from an amusement park and that kept me occupied sometimes. My background was pretty normal surprisingly! My father was a police lieutenant and my mother was an administrative assistant.

Who were your main influences growing up?
I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t have any – simply because I wasn’t exposed to any other artists or that much art. I grew up in the most inartistic household you can imagine! My parents knew absolutely nothing about art and I didn’t have any artistic friends or artistic people in my life either. The only other art I would see was the occasional class trip to the Met or the Moma and although I appreciated the art there, the subject matter didn’t interest me that much.

How do you think your painting and drawing style developed?
I had been distorting things for as long as I could remember – it came very naturally to me. At the time I really began defining my style though, I was suffering from a lot of health problems. I think that the distortion was a reflection of how I felt inside translated into visual terms.

What materials do you use to produce your work?
I work in oils and paint on either wood panel or this great, ultra-smooth imported Italian linen.

From your portfolio, what is your favorite piece?
“The Wish”. Not only is it a very personal piece, but it took me forever to paint – there must have been over 3,000 dandelions! I’m very attached to that particular one and wish (no pun intended!) I didn’t sell it. People also respond to that painting the most.

What are some of your favorite things & interests?
Painting, photography, drawing, singing, music, dancing, having a great time, real people who are down-to-earth, Halloween, carousels, dusk, red skies, thunderstorms, lightening, tornados, seahorses, jet black hair, pink hair, the sound of crickets at night, animals (margays, klipspringers), my 3 black kitties, comedies, laughing so hard that you feel sick, spontaneous adventures, amusement parks, vintage toys, NYC, Las Vegas, leopard, cheetah and zebra prints, love, kissing, victorian wallpaper, red velvet cake body wash, massages, buttercream frosting moisturizer, vanilla perfume, soft sheets, karaoke, vintage photographs, faux food (especially faux pastries!!), pink frosted cupcakes, brick oven pizza, bloody Marys, black eyeliner, anything strange, eerie and unusual.

For information about Lori Earley, please visit:
loriearley.com