Lori Mirabelli
For Ottawa, Canada’s Lori Mirabelli, the jump from holding down a day job and making art on the side to becoming a full-time professional artist took years of preparation and bravery. Mirabelli spent 21 years in social work, building the foundation for her future as a painter.
“When I lost that guaranteed income, I had moments where I panicked a little bit,” says the PureHoney artist of the month for January 2024. “So I really had to pull back into myself and revisit my history: ‘Why did you want to be an artist? What got you to where you are today?’”
A survey of her output today reveals a thriving practice and a body of work with a focus on color theory, and a possibly unexpected source of inspiration.
“To be honest, my love of color came from Bob Ross,” Mirabelli says. “Whenever he was on PBS and I caught a glimpse of him, the thing that stuck out to me the most was, he would talk about which colors he was going to mix to get a certain color that he needed. There wasn’t a formula for that. There wasn’t a book that you could purchase to find out what those color combinations were.
“For me, that’s what stood out, his ability to understand color to the fullest extent,” Mirabelli says of the late, kindly host of public television’s The Joy of Painting. “He knew exactly what to mix, at what time, to get what color/value/shade/tint he needed. I used to think to myself, as an artist, ‘that’s what I want to be able to do.’ Color and value can really help move your eye through that composition.”
South Floridians in particular will appreciate the mid-century modern element in Mirabelli’s canvases. Although they are true abstracts, one can almost see the beginnings of architectural structures taking form — like Modernist buildings viewed through fractured panes of stained glass.
Immersing herself in built environments is more than a pastime for Mirabelli, who used to walk her city at night with her friends because it was the optimal time to check out their surroundings.
“People would have their lights on and you could see inside the houses,” she says. “It wasn’t that I was people watching; I just wanted to see people’s homes. I still have a love of buildings. Last year I went to New York City for the first time. I almost lost my mind on the buildings, the rooftops, the staircases. I just love buildings. There’s such an elegance, a simplicity that sometimes I think we forget about. When people are looking at flowers and fields, for me, I’m more about buildings and structures and how things are built.”
Music is also important to Mirabelli’s creative process. A playlist of some of her favorite tracks to paint to includes Damien Rice’s “The Blower’s Daughter,” Concrete Blonde’s “Everybody Knows,” Aimee Mann’s “Two of Us,” Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season,” Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” and Chris Cornell’s cover of John Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels.”
Mirabelli sells her artworks through multiple galleries and enjoys corporate commissions as well. However, as with many working artists, there are moments of “what’s next?” Alongside her work, Mirabelli has become a prolific social media resource for up-and-coming artists. Her catalog of YouTube videos — covering how to price and sell artworks, ship them affordably and build a brand — are chock-full of actionable tips on running a successful business as a self-employed fine artist.
The journey of emotion and thoughtful creativity visible in her abstract art is the heart of her endeavor. She has dealt with the dreaded white canvas syndrome, “where we just look at it and feel nothing. So, I think that the process is to start to scribble. Sometimes that will carry on into to my finished piece.” Her most recent pieces are a portable 12 x 12 inches, filled with a cooler color palette and lots of gestural markings.
Mirabelli encourages developing artists to “examine the work you take the most pride in and find out why people were drawn to them.” Balance your “why” for passionate creation with your fans’ passionate “why” for collecting.
Find Lori Mirabelli at lorimirabelli.com, on Instagram @lorimirabelli and at youtube.com/c/lorimirabelli-abstract-paintings ~ Kelli Bodle
