Lori Wakefield

Lori Wakefield | Dancing with the

You’ve described your first encounter with Pop Art at the age of five as a turning point. What do you remember most vividly about that experience, and how does it still echo in your work today?

While looking at the pop art show Ed Ruscha’s painting SPAM caught my eye I though I can do this I want to be a painter. I loved the bold colors, strong style of pop art not the subject matter.

Color seems to be a driving force in your paintings. What does color allow you to express that form or narrative alone cannot?

To me colors are emotions like music it goes straight to our hearts.

Music – particularly Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On – played a crucial role in helping you find your artistic voice. How does music continue to influence your painting process today?

I have always liked the depths of music can reach with emotions music has been and always will be inspiring to me without music life would not be worth living I always listen to music while i paint.

Lori Wakefield | Realized purpose

Many of your figures appear emotionally charged, exaggerated, or psychologically layered. Are these characters rooted in personal experience, observation, or imagination?

My art comes from experience observations as well as imaginations feelings and inspiration the agony as well as the ecstasy, i learned classical sculpture so I could know the rules and break them.

You studied and worked across many disciplines – from sculpture and printing to digital design. How have these diverse practices shaped the way you approach painting?

Sculpture helped with perspective, computer graphics is a quick and dirty way of working on ideas mostly for social media but some painting have came from it. Probably the most important skill I use all the time is drawing many painting comes from sketching i can work things out in drawing before I paint.

Looking back at your long artistic journey, what does painting mean to you today – personally and spiritually?

Painting and creating is my lives gift to humanity Spiritually I let GOD WORK THROUGH ME for me staying healthy mentally spiritually physically lets me go through the trials and tribulations of being an artist.