featured artist

Lorrie Drennan

Each year, the Southern Breeze Wine + Culinary Festival selects one Gulf Coast artist as the festival's Artist of the Year. This year, Lorrie Drennan's work will grace memorabilia and décor for the festival.

From the time she was two, she felt the stirrings of art in her soul. From that point on, art has always been a part of Lorrie Drennan's life in one way or another.

Art impacted Lorrie's life as she made her way across the nation, growing up in Florida where she fell in love with the beaches, Huntsville, Ala., and New Orleans. But Mississippi is the place Lorrie calls home. She graduated from high school in Ocean Springs, met her husband in Gulfport, and raised her three children in Brandon.

Mississippi is also where Lorrie was able to cast aside her "real job" and pursue a full-time career in an art-related field. It wasn't until the early 90's, with the support of her husband, that she switched gears and built a successful business as a muralist and faux finisher.

She still had the desire to "learn to really paint," so Lorrie began art lessons with Bob Tompkins where she learned valuable basics to build on. She wanted to expand her painting with a more funky, loose style, so she decided to take lessons from Julie McCartney. With Julie's help, Lorrie developed her own style that includes using lots of color.

Lorrie says her work reflects her life and is filled with light, happiness, and movement. She loves to travel, and spicy bits from destinations such as New Orleans, Hawaii, and Italy always find their way into her work, as does the beauty of the natural, everyday world.

Lorrie continues to develop and enjoy the gift of art, and is represented in shows and galleries throughout Mississippi and Alabama.

"I cannot presume to predict what the public will want to possess, I can only paint what I love and hope that someone else will love it as well," Lorrie says.

Find out more about Lorrie and her work by visiting drennart.blogspot.com.

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