Lori Burke is a full-time International artist originally from the Horseshoe Valley ski area north of Toronto. She now lives in a small waterfront town in Ridgeway Ontario, Canada. She is self-taught, honing her craft through research and courses. Her great-grandmother was a well-known artist painting and showing into her 80’s. L. Burke draws from her inner voice and is guided by intuition as she expresses passion and movement in every piece of her work. She has won several awards and has participated in many competitions and art exhibitions. We interviewed Lori to learn more about her practice, inspirations, and what she’s working on today.
1. How does your creative day look like and what inspires you to make art? Has your creative day changed due to Covid-19?
My creative day has not changed much, I have a beautiful home studio to work in. I am a creature of habit I will do my posting and computer work in the early mornings, I grab a coffee and head to my loft studio, birds singing and lots of light beaming in. I pop on some music and start my process. If I don’t have a definite plan or commission I’m working on then I let my intuition guide me.
2. Tell us more about your art studio.
I was very fortunate to be able to create my sacred space. We built this studio in the loft of my carriage house which is an additional building on our property. It’s amazing and I immediately feel the creative juices start to flow whenever I’m out there. It has a beautiful bed, a couple of couches and my studio. It will often double as a spot for friends and family to stay when visiting, as well its great showplace for two studio tours I participate in yearly and private art open houses.
3. How did you first get interested in your medium/s?
I have been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember, it’s been a lifelong passion of mine. I am self-taught and love the ability and option to be diverse in my style, I love to explore with texture and always try to incorporate depth in all my work. Wind, water, sky, and the earth have always been my muse and come into play in everything I do. Acrylics are my main medium however I love inks, spray paints, and gel as well, utilizing many of these in my abstract and mixed media pieces.
4. Describe your style in one sentence.
I am an abstract artist who enjoys a diverse style and technique, freely expressing my inner connection and intuition with nature.
5. Has your style changed over time?
My style has changed over the years possibly becoming more diverse as I like to stretch my imagination. I love to explore where my intuition takes me without guilt or judgment to produce the same things over and over. Don’t get me wrong there are subjects I adore and will repeat but I love to play with ideas, texture, and colour so variety is my mistress.
6. What are your main artistic tools?
This is not an easy one as I will use everything brushes, palette knives, wedges, credit cards, and my personal favourite my fingers!
7. Do you ever experience creativity blocks and how do you stay positive and inspired?
Like all creatives, we have times when we aren’t creating. I work on other areas of my business during these times, we can’t be “ON” 100 percent of the time. I don’t stress over these things, I listen to my soul as there are times to paint and create and times to just be.. I know this with my whole heart and embrace the quiet times to recharge my vision.
8.What artists - either contemporary or from history - have had an impact on you and your art practice?
I love the masters, Monet, Degas, Van Gough, and especially the great sculptors Rodin, Michelangelo, and Donatello. I feel my expression through work with texture and colour for example my “Soul Series” shows these influences.
9. Do you think the art world has changed or will be changing due to the pandemic? If yes, how?
Sadly things are changing and I feel it will be some time before we get back to freely exploring places like the Louvre. Live exhibitions will take a back seat to online shows, intimate galleries will limit the numbers of people entering. However I feel it will all come around again, maybe not to the extent it was prior to the pandemic but change is a moving target. Creatives will adjust to it. We will embrace the new normal as the world is in this together.
10. What project are you working on right now? What would you like to do next?
I’ve been working on a couple of commissions and they are going really well. One of the commissions was a Blue Jay in special memory of a lost loved one. I tried to put an ethereal spirit and essence into this painting. They absolutely loved it and felt very connected by it. So I may do a series of birds expressing their spiritual beauty.
