Profile: The Childhood Dreamworld of Painter Lola

				Lola “paints to start a positive dialog amongst strangers.” At age 13, she was already working to help pay for her education at the private religious school her parents insisted she attend. Perhaps as a result, her most cherished childhood memories are those created in her own imagination. A former tattoo artist, she now paints full time in an effort to return us to the innocence of our youth. We began our exchange with Lola as she packed up her home in LA, and finished up with her from her new home in England.
				…a humbling and emotionally in-touch way of living
				I have a new body of work I’m painting which will be exhibited this summer in Los Angeles at Corey Helford Gallery that is consuming me. It’s been over two years since showing there, and a lifetime of changes, which are very present in the new paintings. I’d like to think my work has grown and matured in ways that even I didn’t know were to happen. I’m eager to finally show what I’ve been doing.
				Mostly life and circumstance. My situations have been constantly moving. Nothing I can’t handle, but it hasn’t always been easy. Whatever changes I go through seem to always be the focus of my theme. I like to think of things in a positive light, so this helps me to overcome whatever life throws at me. And makes for art with deep meaning and a light at the end of the tunnel.
				Every year I work with a charity called The Sea Shepherd Society, donating art to help them in their battle to save our oceans and [their] inhabitants. In the recent years, they have become a well-known group of men and women who risk their lives to save our innocent whales and dolphins…seals, etc. I feel the guilt of not physically being out there, so the least I can do is help fund and be one of the many to keep it going.
				I think I am living my dream; in fact, I am. I never wanted or thought I could make a living creating the artwork I’ve always been inclined to. I’ve always painted, and now I can support my family. It’s always surreal to me.
				Jan Van Eyck, Van Der Weyden, Bosch, Goyen, Vermeer, Bacon, Caravaggio, Pietersz, to name a few… I’m most attracted to Dutch and Flemish masters. Living artists I’m very fond of are Mars-1, Kris Kuksi, Oliver Vernon, Fulvio Di Piazza, Eric White, Jeremy Lipking, Laurie Lipton, Dave Kinsey, Lu Cong, Kris Lewis, Kelsey Brooks, JR, James Jean, John Currin, etc… Visually, each and every one of these people takes their craft and presents it in a way that captivates me. I was never taught how to paint, so I look at these artists and wonder “how did they do that?” I love not knowing, but my eyes love not turning away, and scanning the works like I might be able to someday figure this out.
				I feel I work my best surrounded by nature and serene landscape. For now, I’m focused on Europe, but would love to somehow constantly travel and work as I go.
				I started working at age 13. My parents sent me to religious high school to shelter me further, and it required that I work to pay my tuition. I hated it! I had to work in the front office stuffing envelopes and answering phones…lots of busy work. I think back now, though; it gave me a work ethic at a young age and kept me from being lazy.
				The concept of time. Time is my worst enemy! I always think about it and stress over it. Being on a schedule, and having a slow painting technique, time is always on my mind. I take my time, and end up loosing sleep in the end just to get paintings finished. I keep myself away from calendars and clocks as much as I possibly can. But it always gets me at night while in bed.
				Visit Lola… lolafineart.com lolafineart.tumblr.com facebook.com/lolafineart twitter.com/lolagil