Featured Artist Lorayne McGovern

Meet Lorayne McGovern!

Lorayne is one of PPWS’ Featured Artists for June 2024!

Lorayne has been a member of PPWS since 2023, is an Associate Member, and the PPWS Webmaster.

Lorayne’s Bio:

I have had a career in graphic design for about 50 years, (YIKES!) getting my first job with an ad agency in Guam at 17. There I learned the basics and had fun doing fashion illustrations. I worked for a few commercial printers in my 20’s in South Florida, then moved to Arizona. At 30 I opened my first graphic design business and after five years added custom screen printing. I packed up and moved to Colorado Springs in 1992 and found studio space for my business in the Depot Arts District, under the Colorado Avenue bridge. Screen printing was a new creative outlet. My niche market was the scuba diving industry where I designed and illustrated custom destination scuba diving t-shirts, mostly for Pacific destinations. In 2023, I sold my business to pursue professional faux painting, painting walls, floors, ceilings, and furniture. In 2009, I returned to doing graphic design and learned how to build and design websites.

In October 2017, I was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma and given only a couple of months to live. I then had an allergic reaction to a chemo pill and developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, which also tried to kill me and I wound up in Penrose Hospice with only days to live. A month later I walked out of there with the aid of a walker! The staff cheered and said I was a miracle! In March of 2018, I was declared N.E.D. (no evidence of disease) and have been cancer-free for 6 years now.

During my long recovery, I was lonely and bored, and although I had painted with oils and acrylics in the past, I always wanted to learn watercolors. I found my old set of watercolors and brushes, and with the help of YouTube, I taught myself how to paint, ruining a lot of paper along the way! Painting during my recovery gave me an escape from the trauma and PTSD of my ordeal, even if just for a few hours. Talk about art therapy!

Lorayne’s Awards:

When I was about 6 or 7 I won first place in the Buster Brown Shoes coloring contest and received a free pair! LOL! I was also awarded a few high school and college art certificates. Now to move on to bigger things!

Lorayne’s favorite things to paint:

I began my watercolor adventure painting seashells and flowers. I do more landscapes now and I love experimenting with new techniques like granulation.

Lorayne’s favorite or most admired artists:

Yesim Gozukara, Rukiye Garip, Thomas Schaller

Lorayne’s goals for the next year:

Carve out more time to paint, start entering watercolor shows/competitions, and take a few watercolor classes. My dream goal is to become a Signature Member within two years and hopefully sell a few paintings!

Lorayne’s Watercolor Tip or Trick:

• More water follows less water. A good way to get some fuzzy trees on a distant horizon line. It’s all about the timing and when it works, it’s magical!

• I don’t advise getting transition lenses if you wear glasses. It can distort your colors! I learned the hard way.