Lois Hinman, Biography

Since relocating to the Mojave desert at the foot of the Sierra Mountains in 1972, Lois has been inspired by the landscape and clear skys that are present most of the year. Her pottery and paintings reflect her life in the desert where she was introduced to the world of art. She fell in love with the feel and workability of clay and decided to learn more about it.

After studying under Paul Meyers for three years and traveling to every workshop she could find, she opened her successful pottery business in 1979. In the early 90’s Lois went back to college to study art and while there discovered oil painting. This was her first exposure to painting and she found it lured her in with the same luscious feel and workability she had found in clay, only with the promise of vibrant color.

She pursued the knowledge and experience of oil painting with the same vitality she had with clay by taking workshops and classes whenever her business allowed . Lois earned her art degree in 1994 and has studied with many artists in both clay and oil paint and still takes workshops whenever she can.

Each of her instructors has had a profound influence on her art style, which has grown from her love of texture, color and light. These three things are always present, whether it is a landscape, a still life, a large floor vessel or a simple coffee mug.

“I love working in clay and oil paint because it seems that one medium feeds the other. If I’m stuck on a painting, getting away from it and throwing a pot on the potter’s wheel frees up my mind to subconsiously work out my problem in the painting. Likewise, if I can’t figure out how to finish a particular pot, it sometimes helps to work in oil so my mind can freely think of the problem. There is a mystery in starting a vessel in clay because I can’t predict what will occur during the process, and that same suspense is present when I’m starting a painting. I paint en plein-aire where decisions must be made before the light changes, just as when I’m throwing a pot on the potter’s wheel, decisions must be made before the clay is overworked and slumps. Both clay and oil paint allow me to look at the world around me with the eye of an artist and realize how much influence the light has on everything. I am inspired by the work of the impressionists and how they depicted light before form. I constantly strive to capture and share the light and color of the world around me.”


Memberships:
The American Impressionist Society
Oil Painters of America
National Oil & Acrylic Painter’s Society
Desert Artist’s League
Maturango Museum
Maturango Museum Art Gallery Committee
Bakersfield Art Museum
Arts Council of Kern

Art Education:
Cerro Coso College: 1972-1976, 1977-1979, received Art Degree 1994
School of Light and Color: 2002
Scottsdale Artists School: 1998, ‘99, & 2000
Mendacino Art Center, 1996

Workshops attended: Painting
John Budician - Oct. 2004, Helga Batman-Koplan - Feb. 2004, Richard McKinley - Jan. 2004, Joan Hoffmann - Oct 2003, Susan Sarback - Feb. & June 2002, Anita Wolfe - Apr. 2002, Howard Rees - Oct. 2001, & 2002, Sharon Burkette Kaiser - May 2000, Ellen Sprague - April 2000, Bill Mercer - April 1999, Joyce Pike - Feb. 1999, Francesca Ouimette - Sept. 1997, Ted Georshner - Nov. 1998, Ruth Markwith - Oct. 1997, Charles Sovek - 1996.

Workshops attended: Pottery
Paul Soldner - 1978 & 1993, Robin Hopper - 1989, David Leach - 1986, Ken Ferguson - 1984, Don Bendel - 1982, Clayton Bailey - 1981, Don Reitz - 1980, Dennis Parks - 1980.

Solo Shows:
Sylvia Winslow Art Gallery, Maturango Museum - May thru June 2006
Sylvia Winslow Art Gallery, Maturango Museum - November 2001
Cerro Coso East Wall Exhibit, 1993

Group Shows:
Bakersfield Museum of Art - Juried show - July 2005
Women Beyond Borders - Permanent Traveling Collection - 2004
Open Art Studio Tour - 2004 & 2005
Maestri Gallery - 2003
Pegasus Gallery - Bishop, CA - 2002
Maturango Museum - 1991

Awards:
Certificate of National Merit, League for Innovation: Sculpture - 1993
Best of Show - Desert Empire Fair - Painting & Pottery - 1998, 1999
1st place - Pottery & Painting, 1996
2nd place - Painting, 1996