Featured Artist: Adrienne Stohr Lewis

Adrienne Stohr Lewis is a Community Herbalist, intuitive artist, and Creatively Fit Coach at Otter Woman eARTh Medicine. She lives in Evergreen, Colorado with her husband, 2 boys, and beloved dogs. She is a self-taught artist who found art as a survival tool as a young mother. Today she believes in women nurturing their connection to what is alive within them through time in nature, ritual, and self-discovery. The ancient saying “As above so below; As within so without” is the embodiment of her practice. Adrienne teaches workshops at her beautiful Evergreen Studio and online. She sells her art worldwide. You can find her online offerings and personal insight into her work by following her on Instagram (@otter.woman) and on Facebook at Otter Woman Earth Medicine.

View more of Adrienne’s work on her website here.

1. Tell us a little about your work and artistic practice?

My painting practice is an intuitive and sacred practice to me. I’ve found that I work in a very different way than other artists I’ve spoken to. I often turn to the canvas with my life questions. The first layer of my canvas is always infused with these questions. For example, If I’m debating sending my kids to a new school, or whether to teach a new class, I paint out my questions. Then, I pay close attention to the thoughts I have as I paint; the colors I’m drawn to, and the images that appear. The answers to my questions are always revealed in the symbolism laid out on the canvas. From there, I try to stay in that flow and do “the next right thing”, the next color or mark that I feel a desire to make. My painting practice is a heart felt journey. It is a place for me to connect with myself and my inner longings, to have fun and do whatever it is that I want to do! I always tell my boys “there are no rules in art!”

2. How has your creative process been impacted or evolved during the pandemic?

For me, like so many of us, the pandemic has been a time of reflection, taking stock of what’s important and what I want more of in my life. One day I went to order more canvases and realized I had a stack of unfinished paintings. I considered most of them 90% done. I decided in the moment to finish those paintings before I ordered more supplies. I sat down and each of the paintings (the 4 shown here) took me in a completely different direction! The caribou had been a totem with a grouse, a mountain lion, and a hawk! The wolf had been a deer. It made me appreciate the wisdom of my painting process and of really working with what I have instead of reaching for the next new thing.

3. Where do you find inspiration?

Living in Evergreen it is easy to find inspiration! I take a lot of pictures when I’m out hiking and record voice notes to capture the spontaneity and clarity of the thoughts I have when I’m hiking or outside in nature. These moments are times of great clarity and inspiration for me. I try to catch times like these when my mind is free and uninhibited. I also journal the images and impressions that come through in my dreams in a dedicated journal. There are many mornings I wake up and find myself thinking of a painting or certain colors that I feel a wild compulsion to get down on the canvas as soon as possible.

4. Do you have a favorite piece of art that someone else has created?

The first thing that came to mind are paintings of Georgia O’Keefe’s Jimson Weed. I remember sitting on the bank of a river in New Mexico next to a wild jimson weed and being completely overwhelmed by that plant. O’Keefe’s representation of its complete energy and power remind me of the power art has to create everlasting impressions, connection and change within people.

5. Tell us about one of YOUR pieces that you have been the most proud of?

I have a deep love and appreciation for each of my paintings. I feel bonded to each of them in different ways! I find that even years after I’ve painted a piece I may suddenly understand something new about it that I couldn’t have known before. I have a piece in my home that provides daily inspiration. Whenever I look at it, I’m reminded of the time and space in which I painted it, and yet it seems to constantly inspire new ideas and insights at the same time.

6. Who are your biggest influences?

Flora Bowley is an intuitive artist in Portland, OR. It’s been 6 yrs since I began painting and I feel like all roads lead back to Flora. I find endless inspiration in John Nieto’s works. I can get lost in the colors and layers found in his subjects. I love Amy Ringholtzs work and her reminder to always Dream. I also love floral and botanical art. I take breaks to look at beautiful botanical illustrations to clear my mind and reorient myself. One of my favorite floral artists to follow is Carrie Schmitt.

Meet Adrienne Stohr Lewis

See Adrienne's Work