Today we’d like to introduce you to Tricia Lowenfield.
Tricia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was a little girl my mother detected that I could draw. She wanted to preserve my naive style. and as an art major herself, she knew that art teachers can influence their students. Her desire was for me to retain my natural gift so she provided lots of art supplies but no teachers. My elementary teachers were huge encouragers of my artwork and I won many rewards as a child. My subjects were usually children, animals and angels.
As I grew older those were still my favorite subjects and once in college I took a life drawing class and quickly dropped it as I had come up with the rule that looking at a subject was cheating. My way of drawing was that everything had to come from one’s imagination… I think it also made me feel like my childlike drawings were embarrassing.
One spring break during college I was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and saw an artist’s work in a gallery that reminded me of my own work. He took painted angels, children and animals… And his work had sold to people like Elizabeth Taylor and Queen Elizabeth.
The next year when I returned to that gallery I found out that Manuel Lepe had died at the young age of 42 and it deeply impacted me. That news somehow gave me the confidence to accept the style of drawing that my mother had wanted to protect so many years ago.
Today I call my style “whimsical European folk art” and work in many mediums… clay, watercolor, acrylic, fabrics and I also have written four children’s books and write children’s music… and more often than not stick with my favorite subjects of…. children, animals and angels!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When I got married and moved to Charleston, South Carolina is when I started selling my work. A designer asked me to do some hand-painted tiles for a bathroom in a Charleston Symphony Designer home. Overnight I had orders come in to paint those same tiles for homes all over the country.
I painted tiles for kitchens, bathrooms and fireplaces in homes all over Charleston. It was before the internet so business came through word of mouth. I never advertised. I even had a lady open a store that was only my art. The hard thing was when after four years of a thriving business… we moved to Houston and had to start all over since no one knew me.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Tricia Lowenfield design – what should we know?
Custom work and commissions are some of my favorite things. The artwork that comes from my studio usually tells a story… maybe a platter for a couple getting married in Massachusetts or a plate for baby shower with the baby’s name in California or a personalized tea set for a first birthday party in New York or custom animal ceramic tiles for a backsplash in a kitchen in North Carolina.
Some people know me for my four children’s books. Christmas time is a favorite season in my studio and my nativities, wreaths and ornaments are unique and new each year and people come back each year to add to their collection.
One thing that makes me especially happy is that much of my work is given as gifts for the special times in life as a remembrance. I like to think that maybe some of the pieces I have painted will be passed down to another generation. I used to think that anyone could do what I do and after selling my work for many years, I have realized that by never having studied art, my mother gave me a unique gift to paint in a very innocent style and perhaps that is what best sets my work apart from others.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My husband has been such a huge part of making sure that over the years when we moved houses (so far its 14 times) that I always had a studio space to create in. My three daughters have greatly inspired my work over the years and i love that all three are talented artists themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: tricialowenfield.etsy.com
- Phone: 281.785.0755
- Email: tricialowenfield@gmail.com
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
