Lori Putnam

“I often create small preliminary sketches and studies on location in pencil, gouache, or oil. While some of these are completed works in themselves, that is not my primary goal. Turning away from photo references, I paint large oil paintings using only these intimate resources, my memories, and my soul. What interests me is rarely any specific subject unto itself. Instead, I am captivated by interlocking shapes, color harmony, and precisely related tones. When seen up close, my paintings are abstract marks of color that only come into focus as the work is viewed from farther away.” —Lori Putnam, AIS, OPA

Lori Putnam is a celebrated contemporary artist with a distinct and captivating style. Her work is recognized for its loose and expressive brushwork, intelligent use of color, and modern composition. Her art encompasses diverse subjects, including landscape, still life, and figure.
Putnam paints small to medium-sized works en plein air and creates large paintings in her studio in Charlotte, Tennessee. Traveling to paint and exposure to other lives and geographic locations has been the artist’s best teacher.
First, sketching, gathering resource materials, and painting on location, she then returns to her studio to pour her heart and soul into creating paintings that capture the individual essence of each place she visits. Through her work, she transports viewers into the landscapes and cultures that define a specific region.
Featured in numerous exhibitions, galleries, and museums, Putnam has earned a well-deserved reputation as a contemporary master. She has received awards and recognition from respected art organizations and competitions across the U.S. and Europe. Among them, the Oil Painters of America, The Portrait Society of America, American Women Artists, the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, and plein air events too numerous to mention. A few of her recent accolades include First Place, Signature Member Award, American Impressionist Society; Silver Award, Art in the Open Plein Air Festival Ireland; and the coveted Alden Bryan Memorial Prize in the Salmagundi Club's 193rd Annual Members’ Show. In 2021, Putnam won the $15,000 Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award for the Plein Air Salon Competition. The honors were awarded to two separate paintings and chosen from more than 8,000 entries.
Museums, including The Tucson Museum of Art, The Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, The Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, Montana, Custom’s House Museum, Clarksville, Tennessee, The High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, the Irvine Museum in California, and The Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland have sought out Putnam’s works for awards, exhibitions, and collection. Putnam belongs to many prestigious art organizations. She currently serves as the Vice President for Art Ambassador for a Colorful World, an organization whose work touches the lives of children and communities in less advantaged areas in the world.
The art of Lori Putnam is a testament to the power and beauty of painting as a medium of expression. Her work celebrates life, nature, and the human experience, rendered with remarkable skill, passion, and creativity.