About Lori Ann Fitzgerald

Internationally Recognized Artist

Welcome to my website! Please, enjoy viewing all of the art I have posted here. It is my PATH in life. It is my DESTINY. It is my FATE. It is my PASSION. I AM AN ARTIST.

I was born in New Jersey in 1964 and grew up in Florham Park, NJ.

I was an avid little Artist coloring in coloring books and began drawing the comics from the newspaper. I was able to draw them EXACTLY. I enjoyed doing Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Woodstock very much I recall. I still LOVE Charles Schultz!

Cartoons came easy. So, one day I ventured into sketching REALISTIC faces….my father’s face was my VERY FIRST. He was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper and eating sardines, ha ha! oh well…..I was able to sketch a profile that again captured the likeness tremendously! I got ALL excited and ran to my friend, Mary Herbert’s house and asked her if I could try to sketch her, too. I did, and it did look like her. After that, my memory fades, but I am HAPPY to remember my “FIRSTS” in Portrait Art!

I attended Holy Family School until the 4th grade when my dad’s job transferred our family to Illinois in 1974. I was 10. We moved to Lindenhurst, IL where I attended Prince of Peace School 5th through 8th grade.

I did my FIRST OIL painting at 10 years old….it was of a giant greeting card of an elephant with a birdie. I would LOVE to have it BACK…..I gave it to a friend’s little sister. I sold my FIRST PORTRAIT of the Blessed Virgin Mary in WATERCOLOR to my Art Teacher for $5. She ended up framing it and giving it to the nuns for Christmas to display in their convent. At Prince of Peace I was able to draw and design often. Especially 7th grade when my teacher, Mrs. Kozicka allowed me to design and decorate her back bulletin boards. There were a group of my friends and I that executed the work of my designs. It was Awesome!
At Antioch High School in Antioch, Illinois I met my Art Teacher, Mrs. Craner, God rest her soul. She was a Master Artist and a GREAT TEACHER. I exhausted the Art curriculum at the highschool and took 2 college classes in my senior year for highschool credits.

Back in my day, we were not able to test out and start college advanced. I was told upon graduation that if I entered college my art classes would have to be REPEATED for the first year….I was 18 “jumping hurdles” and they wanted me to “take the bench” …..I moved to CALIFORNIA at 18 and began selling PASTEL PORTRAITS for $40.

I sold these through word-of-mouth sales while holding other jobs for income.

I had a rough, tough time of surviving and ended up coming home to my parents who had just moved to Texas on another job transfer with Guinness Import Co. My father is famous for bringing DRAUGHT (draft) GUINNESS to Texas! Texas was and has been the MOST RECEPTIVE and APPRECIATIVE place to do my ART.

In my early adulthood, I was a WAITRESS and a LIVE-IN NANNY in order to supplement my art income. It was not until I became pregnant at 26 and delivered my daughter, Joy, 2 weeks shy of my 27th birthday that I never looked back at being a Freelance Artist solely for income as Motherhood was a FULL TIME JOB and not paying much except in the way of paltry child support payments. I was ready for motherhood, but it would be as a single mother mostly my entire motherhood of raising my 2 children, Joy and Patrick. Noreen Katherine Burke was born Sept. 28, 1998 only to succumb to an undiagnosable cancer at 10 months old Aug. 14th, 1999.

I worked as a Freelance Fine Artist from my START DATE of May 12th, 1992 at BAJA BEACH CLUB in Arlington, TX. I did airbrushed wall murals, beer tubs, and paint-brushed murals, too that changed out weekly of the bands playing. It was fun! They also owned the TIJUANA YACHT CLUB in Dallas, TX where I also did wall murals. I was even flown down to Miami, Florida to re-do ALL THE WALLS at the TIJUANA YACHT CLUB there in Miami. It was a fun few years….

I began college again at 30 years old. UTA had an Art Job Board back then and it became a great source for leads for income. I got hired on part-time at DOSKOCIL Mfg. Company, now PETMATE after they bought out Petmate. I worked with Designers and my boss, Melaney Northrop remains a friend to this day. I still do corporate work for them on and off over all these years.

Another coporate job I did for many years was CHALK ART on MENU BOARDS for STARBUCKS via ARAMARK FOODS. It was a most enjoyable run for years until my boss with Aramark retired….only a few jobs passed through after that….for Starbucks.

Over the years, I have painted airbrush wall murals, paint-brushed wall murals for bars, restaurants, schools, libraries, and homes. I also got into faux finishing walls and furniture all the while concentrating on my PERSONAL ART COLLECTION of AUTOGRAPHED CELEBRITY PORTRAITS which is nearing a TOTAL OF 50 GALLERY FRAMED PIECES. I am looking for ehxibition space always!

I enjoy a CHALLENGE and do not sit or stand IDLE in my mediums of art. I have pursued all the “old school” mediums of PENCIL; CHARCOAL; CHALK; PEN & INK; WATERCOLORS of all sorts: transparent watercolors, acrylics, gouache, and enamels; as well as AIRBRUSH, SCULPTURE of all sorts: clay, paper mache, plaster, etc.; and most recently enjoy painting on rocks and restoring old statues.

I am mostly desiring to get more involved in CONCEPT ART – coming up with cool concepts but having OTHERS execute the manual labor. My art dues may not be paid yet for such privilege?? 😉

I HOPE YOU ENJOY VISITING AND SHOPPING AT MY NEW WEBSITE AND STORE!

THANK YOU!
GOD BLESS!