By Heather Collins
Noblesville artist, Lori Johnson, 90, will present The Life Works of Lori Johnson at the Pendleton Artist Society.
The retrospective features 44 paintings, as well as various sketchbooks, prints and notecards.
“I just feel this is probably going to be my last hurrah, and I just want to share it all,” Johnson said.
A long-time resident of California, Johnson moved to Hamilton County in 2007. As a young girl, Johnson would create all of her own paper dolls and their clothes. She later met with MGM Studios to become a dress designer, but was told she would be better at McCalls, Glamour or a pattern shop.
“That broke my heart,” she said.
Johnson moved to Hawaii in the 1970s and began painting with a teacher named Haroki, who greatly influenced the prospective and precision of her work. Johnson also studied with internationally known watercolorist, Ann Templeton.
Johnson’s work focuses on people, pets and places and said painting helped her deal with the grief of losing her son, George, in 2014. After his death, Johnson said she spent the rest of 2014 creating paintings of George growing up as a child.
“You started to see that feelings that you have inside can put into canvas,” said Johnson, who continues to paint at her home studio and is available for commission work.
Some of Johnson’s most popular requests are paintings of deceased pets.
“I want to make it so every time they look at that painting, the animal becomes alive for them again,” she said.
She also is an avid member of the Hamilton County Arts Association and the Pendleton Artist Society.
The retrospective display will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday through October at The Pendleton Artist Society, 119 W. State St., Pendleton. Meet-and-greets are available each Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon.
