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With a flourish here and a countryside scene there, Lori James’ home is an exhibition of her talent. Lori is a veteran muralist who has painted the walls, ceilings, and doors of numerous local homes. She is about to begin her seventy-seventh school mural in Clinton County, and Lori said schools are very competitive: “Every school wants a mural better than another school.” Lori’s studio is overflowing with arts and crafts supplies, from paints and brushes to feathers and beads. She paints murals and portraits, plans weddings, makes costumes, and much more. Most of the time, she stays booked at least three months in advance. An intricate mural covers the wall of her “woman cave” that depicts 30 life-size movie characters. The figures look as though they might speak at any moment, and include Betty Boop, The Three Stooges, ET, and many more –- all interacting with each other in clever ways. “I imagined that they were all on set when the lunch whistle blew, and everyone went to gather in the dining room,” she said. A hillside covers the back of her bathroom door - “So you have something nice to look at when you sit down,” she added. A very personal mural wraps around her game room. Lori is a native of Cuba, but she came to the U.S. when she was eight. The Caribbean landscape depicts a brightly-colored jungle with flowers and birds from the region. Inspired by a mural in the White House from the 1800’s, she changed the colors and flowers to suit her heritage. She even included a small red weed that grows in Kentucky which she sees on her walks. Lori said she used her art at an early age to draw pictures to communicate with her teachers before she could speak English. She said her early struggles with homelessness and being bullied have made her appreciate how far she has come. “You have to take the good with the bad,” she said. “I’m very blessed.”
Lori James
A Peek Into
Lori James’ Art Studio
Some of the beautiful works of art created by Lori.
— By Mary Anne Andrews
Lori credits God for all of her talent. She has never taken an art class. “If you have a gift and you choose to ignore it, it fades,” she said, “but, if you develop it, it grows. Every day that I paint is another day of training. You learn every day what mistakes you’ve made and how not to make them again.” Lori’s dad recognized her talent in high school, and he tried to encourage her without pressuring her. He passed away when Lori was 18, so he didn’t live long enough to see her work flourish. Lori’s husband, Kenneth, was the one who encouraged her to pursue art for a living after she painted the walls of their first house to keep their children’s hand prints from showing. It wasn’t until she gave her husband a painting of his favorite album cover, Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, that she began to take her art seriously. “I was just trying to show off, but he was very impressed,” she said. She and her husband owned the Brass Box, a costume rental and event planning business in Bowling Green until 1995. That’s when Lori began painting murals. Lori said her favorite projects are the ones about which her clients get excited. “Once I get started, something clicks, and I want to do a good job,” she said. “It becomes my number one project.”