Featured Artist Dorothy Lorenze

Featured artist Dorothy Lorenze presents her delightful portfolio, wherein she finds beauty and meaning in simple, everyday objects. See more about this talented painter by visiting her website.

 

 

I live in New York and I’m painting with oils.

After a long career as a graphic artist, I have s t e p p e d a w a y from the computer to devote my creative energy to slapping down paint, making shapes, tweaking texture and slippin’ in some light: painting still life, interiors and other familiar subjects that strike my fancy. I love it!

 

 

Over the years, drawing has been a constant in my life, providing a strong basis for observation and careful rendering. Now, as an oil painter, I enjoy combining the subtlety and sensitivity of drawing with the richness and vibrancy of oil paint. Relishing the pure, fresh color and honoring traditional realism, my paintings focus on the interplay of light, texture and form to describe favorite antiques and ordinary objects… with an occasional sprinkling of humor.

 

 

There’s a nostalgic warmth to everyday things. I wander through antique shops and pick up items that intrigue me because of their shape, luminosity or capacity for reflection … or maybe they just remind me of my grandmother’s kitchen! There have been lots of canning jars in my world. What’s better – the distortion of light through a glass jar or the recollection of the warm sweet smell that it evokes? Depends on the day, but both are wonderful!

 

 

Rendering translucency, reflection and texture in still life is what makes me smile! Ordinary, everyday objects seem to have stories to tell and there are beautiful moments of unexpected color and reflection to discover. Still life offers a great variety of subjects, surfaces and luminosity. So many objects to paint! Endless combinations of color and texture!

 

 

Occasionally I enjoy working on a small series of similar objects. Recently, I made a side trip to the world of origami! It started as a painting to donate for tsunami relief but turned into a series exploring similar forms. Using different papers, compositions and lighting resulted in a variety of atmosphere and mood. Staying with similar forms through that series taught me a lot about rendering translucency.

 

 

My years as a graphic artist allowed me to creatively communicate meaningful ideas and I have enjoyed that work thoroughly. Now, with painting, communication involves a personal interpretation of relationships within the composition: light, color, form and atmosphere. The meaning and beauty of those relationships is up to the viewer.