Lorraine Millspaugh is a photographer who paints from her photos. She enjoys capturing the soul of wildlife in Florida. Acrylic is her primary medium and she especially loves painting beaches, turtles and birds. You can see her art on display at Village Arts Framing & Gallery.
Tell us about your artwork and what inspires you.
I am a hyper-realist wildlife artist specializing in aquatic wildlife. I am very passionate about our coastal birds, our pristine marshlands and our First Coast beaches. I am inspired by the rich beauty that surrounds us and have been blessed with to call home.
Tell us about your journey as an artist. What first sparked your interest?
I am a self-taught artist and study nature in detail. Traveling across Florida, I spend countless hours photographing our aquatic birds, great white herons, egrets, wood storks, spoonbills and many more aquatic birds in nature. I have always been very passionate about our wildlife. I enjoy seeing the beauty and the gracefulness of our aquatic birds. I can look at them for hours and study them in detail. I love the opportunity to go snorkeling and swim with our sea turtles in the Caribbean. I use my photography to create a one-of-a-kind, aquatic wildlife piece.
Tell us about your art on display in the gallery. What inspired it and what medium do you use?
Primarily, I am an acrylic artist and use Golden paints and many glazes. It takes me about 450 hours to get one original painting done. I use several of my photographs and come up with a unique design to showcase the elegance and the beauty of my great white herons or other subject matters. I paint multiple layers with very fine layers of paint to create movement with lighting to make my birds seem like they’re flying off the canvas and you can actually touch their feathers. My sea turtles come to life with lighting. They look like they are swimming and gliding effortlessly through the clear, pristine waters on an incredible journey. Upon completion of an original piece, it gets photographed by Imagine Fine Art Printing where I create heavy hand embellished giclée’s that are limited addition to 250.
What is your artistic process like?
As a photographer, I use my photos for reference to create elegant aquatic wildlife. My journey starts in my art studio where I use heavy gauge and linen masterpiece canvases. It takes me about two to three days just to do my background work; it takes lots of layers of paint to create and set the mood for my painting. I then sketch out my bird or subject matter and start painting layers upon layers to create a very emotional and high-energy wildlife painting.
What do you like best about what you do?
I’m very passionate about our environment and our coastal, pristine marshlands and beaches. I am a wildlife conservationist, and I enjoy painting live on locations at different galleries I’m associated with in Florida. I enjoy sharing the process of how I paint and the knowledge that I have about each aquatic wildlife bird from their lifespan to what they eat, to their habitat and mating rituals. I also enjoy teaching art to clients that want to learn how to use acrylic paint in a multi-layering process. I am very thankful for my many clients around Florida, the United States and internationally.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I am a wife and a mother, and I have two wonderful grandchildren that keep me very active.
In the spring I am across Florida taking photos our aquatic birds during nesting time. Some of my favorite locations are Merrit Island, Cape Canaveral National Seashore, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Orlando wetlands and our First Coast beaches. I try to get in at least four to six hours of painting a day in my art studio.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I enjoy spending time with my family and grandchildren, going to Disney — especially Animal Kingdom, studying nature, painting and learning more about conservation. I also enjoy doing painting demos at galleries. It’s so fun to meet so many wonderful people from around the world who love to be enriched by beautiful art.
