Lori Marks can’t spend a day without creating. She’s an atypical artist for whom Art is a language and necessity for being. Growing up in Athens, Greece gave her plenty of exposure to the arts, and from a young age, she expressed her emotions through a multitude of mediums.

Painting and photography have always been her main interests but jewelry and printmaking are present as well.  She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville followed by a Masters of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art of Baltimore.

The Big Adventures of Lori Marks

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania then became home as well as an upcoming popular city for movie filming. She was asked to work on The Sixth Sense and instantly became intrigued with the scenic art world. This line of work led to many film projects including three Olympics as the NBC Paint Supervisor and eventually to Los Angeles.

Lori has continued to paint, exhibiting her works in a number of cities, including Geneva in 2012, leading us up to her latest current series of eye paintings inspired by an exhibit viewed many decades ago.

The Influence of the Eye Miniatures

Lori Marks thought she knew the Philadelphia Museum of Art pretty well until she walked into a small room where she was oh so pleasantly surprised by an exhibit of eye miniatures aka Lover’s Eye. These are single-painted portraits of one eye placed in bejeweled pins, pendants, and rings making them perfect portable art pieces.

I love the one-eye portraits! They are so abstract, bizarre, and eerily beautiful. My eye paintings however differ as I’ve made mine based on famous eyes – call it years in the movie business, my love for guessing games, or the challenge of painting a portrait in general.  

Tell us the story of the eye miniatures…

It all started with love at first sight. While attending an opera in 1784, the Prince of Wales (later to be crowned King George IV) laid eyes on Maria Fitzherbert and inevitably fell in love. Unfortunately for them, British law forbade the royals to marry a Catholic causing their affair to become a passionate secret. To express their forbidden love they had their own eye portraits commissioned and then incorporated into jewelry as well as maintaining the anonymity of the lovers. These portraits caught on and became a fashionable trend lasting roughly till 1820.

Do you believe in the Greek evil eye?

I wear one! and definitely like thinking it works! In Greece and many other countries, we are surrounded by the ever presence of the “Mati” being the blue eye amulet protecting us from evil spirits. This is an image of comfort and also makes for great jewelry.

What does love mean to you?

Hmmm. Well, one thing I am definitely grateful for the powerful emotions that make people have the drive to pursue and create things they love and believe in.

To order a famous eye or commission the artist to draw the eye of your loved one, all you must do is click below and email Lori Marks. Mention MBG and get a friendly discount.

PS: by the way, did you recognize the famous eyes? You can also write to her to find out the answers!