Artist Bio

Lori Fowler is a Midwest artist painting in her home studio located in Edina, Minnesota.  Her art is inspired by the uniqueness of people’s faces and nature’s beauty.

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.