Lori Putnam (b. 1962) began painting professionally in her mid-30s. The feel of the paint immediately ignited her love affair with the medium and she knew there was no turning back. Putnam has studied with the country’s best. No stranger to hard work and dedication, she learned sound, foundational principles, which subsequently allowed her to explore her own artistic path. When viewed in a photograph, her work may appear tightly rendered. But upon seeing it in person, viewers are instantly engaged by thick, expressive paint. Putnam is rarely interested in any specific subject. Like a magnet, she is immediately attracted to natural harmonies, rhythms, and patterns. She believes it is important to draw the viewer in, then let them explore her paintings. They become artists themselves for a brief moment and begin to see the world in a different way.

Artist Statement: “What interests me is rarely any specific subject unto itself. I am fascinated by color harmony, rhythms, patterns, and strong shapes, weaving in and out, life in a split second. My art engages. Viewers, like passersby, stop and move in more closely. The work invites them to find their own answers, like following clues to a mystery, and they can become an artist themselves, even if only for a brief time.”

Recent Awards:
2022
Best Architecture Award, Paint the Town, Dickson, Awarded by Robert T. Marvin
Western Art Collector Award, American Women Artists, Breaking Through: The Rise of Women Artists, Customs House Museum, Clarksville, TN

2021
$15,000 Grand Prize Annual Plein air Salon Competition
People’s Choice Award, Plein air Salon Annual Award
Oil Painters of America Salon Exhibition, Cityscape Award of Excellence Awarded by Charles Young Walls
American Women Artists’ Spring Online Showcase, 3rd Place
January Bold Brush Competition, 3rd Place
1st Place, Best Floral, Plein air Salon Competition, August 2021 Awarded by Diane Waterhouse

2020
1st Place Overall, Plein air Salon Competition, November 2020 Awarded by Cynthia McBride 
1st Place Overall, Plein air Salon Competition, October 2020 Awarded by Karen Hewitt
Oil Painters of America Wet Paint Competition, Award of Excellence Awarded by John Pototschnik
Sicilian Roots: NOAPS 2020 Spring International Online Exhibition, Best Use of Light and Color awarded by Del-Bourre Bach

Summer Cut, First Place Best Floral, Plein air Salon, awared by Diane Waterhouse

Merit Award, NOAPS Fall Online Showcase, awarded by Larry DeGraff

2019

Jack Richeson & Co., Inc. Material Certificate, Salmagundi Club Annual Members’ Exhibition

2018

Award of Merit, American Impressionist Society, Awarded by Dawn Whitelaw

National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Small Paintings Exhibition, Award of Excellence, Awarded by Dawn Whitelaw

Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational, Kaanapali Land Management Corp Award

2017

Portrait Society of America, Members Only Competition, Finalist, Still Life

Art Muse Contest Master Class Finalist, Awarded by Stanka Kordic

Portrait Society of America, Members Only Competition, 4th Place, Landscape

2016

American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition 2016, Plein Air Magazine Award of Excellence, Awarded by Calvin Liang

Art Muse Contest, Master Class Finalist, Awarded by Terry Miura

Artists' Choice Best of Show Award for Permanent Collection, Forgotten Coast Plein Air Invitational

Forgotten Coast en Plein air 2016 , Third Place, Quick Draw, Awarded by Jean Stern

Art Muse Contest, Master Class Finalist, Awarded by Greg LaRock

All Along the Sierra Exhibition, First Place, Awarded by Carrie Brewster

Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational, Irvine Museum Award, Awarded by Jean Stern

Art Muse Contest, Master Class Finalist, Awarded by Ken DeWaard

2015

BoldBrush Competition, FineArtStudioOnline, 3rd Place, Awarded by Eric Bowman

Plein air Salon, Best Landscape, Dec/Jan, Awarded by Gary Haynes

Oil Painters of America, Fall Online Showcase, Honorable Mention, Awarded by Kevin Beilfuss

Portrait Society of America, Members Only Competition, 5th Place, Landscape

Portrait Society of America, Members Only Competition, 4th Honorable Mention, Still Life

Judge, Door County Plein air Invitational, Door County, WI

Oil Painters of America Summer Online Showcase, 3rd Place, September 2015, Awarded by Kathy Anderson

Plein Air Salon, Best Depiction of Water, April/May 2015, Awarded by David Leadman

Oil Painters of America Spring Online Showcase, Honorable Mention, 2015, Awarded by Elizabeth Pollie,

Olmsted Plein Air Invitational, High Museum Judge's Award, Awarded by Ken Brenneman, April 2015

Plein Air Magazine Salon, Honorable Mention Annual Awards, 2014

Plein Air Salon, Plein Air to Studio Award, Best Buildings Awarded by Ken Auster, Dec/Jan 2015

2014

Oil Painters of America Salon Showcase, Fall, 2nd Place, Awarded by Dan Beck.

Portrait Society of America, Members Only Competition, Still Life Category Honorable Mention

Plein air Magazine Salon, Best Nocturne, October

Judge, Southern Appalachian Artist Guild National Exhibition, Blue Ridge, GA

Laguna Plein air Painters Invitational, Randy Higbee Gallery Award

American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Denver, CO, Third Place, Awarded by Clayton J. Beck, III

Crested Butte Plein air Invitational, Crested Butte, CO

Judge, Fingerlakes Plein air Competition, Canandaigua, NY

Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein air, Honorable Mention, Quick Draw, Apalachicola, FL

Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Bennington, VT

Plein air Magazine Salon, Honorable Mention, Annual Final

2013

Raymar Art Finalist, Awarded by Stephen M. Doherty

Oil Painters of America Online Showcase, Honorable Mention, Awarded by Greg Scheibel

Sedona Plein air Festival, Award of Merit, Awarded by Jill Carver

Art in the Open Plein air, Honorable Mention, Quick Draw, Wexford, Ireland

Oil Painters of America Fall Salon,Crooked-Tree Arts Center, Petosky,MI

Modern Impressionists, Lori Putnam and Murat Kaboulov, two-man exhibition, LeQuire Gallery, Nashville, TN

Plein air Magazine Salon, Best Floral, Awarded by Skip Whitcomb

Cumberland Society of Painters, Honorable Mention, Awarded by Peggi Kroll-Roberts

American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Charleston, SC

Plein air Artists of Colorado, Second Place, Awarded by Wm. Scott Jennings

Raymar Art Finalist, Awarded by Qiang Huang

Laguna Plein air Painters Association, Best of Plein air, First Place, Awarded by Jean Stern

Richmond Plein air Festival, Honorable Mention, Awarded by Steven Doherty

Richmond Plein air Festival, Fast and Fresh, Second Place, Awarded by Steven Doherty

Oil Painters of America National Juried Salon, Impressionist Award of Excellence, Awarded by Thom Robinson

Oil Painters of America 22nd Annual National Juried Exhibition, Most Original, Award of Excellence, Awarded by Sherrie McGraw

Laguna Plein air Painters Association, Less is More Exhibition, Laguna Beach, CA

Forgotten Coast Plein air Invitational, Apalachicola, FL

Portrait Society of America's International Member's Only Exhibition: Landscape Division, Honorable Mention

Judge, Women Painters of the Southeast National Juried Exhibition, Franklin, TN

Judge, Easels of Frederick, MD

2012

Bold Brush Competition, Finalist, Awarded by David Cheifetz, December

Salmagundi Club New York City, Annual Juried Members' Exhibition, Certificate of Merit

Richmond Plein Air Festival, Honorable Mention, Awarded by Everette Raymond Kinstler

Los Gatos Plein Air Festival, Best of Show, Awarded by Bob Gerbracht

Plein air Easton, Juried Plein air Festival, Easton, MD

American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Vice President, Indianapolis, IN

Forgotten Coast Plein air Invitational, Apalachicola, FL

Plein Air Artists of Colorado National Juried Exhibition, 1st Place Signature Member, Awarded by Joe Anna Arnett

Women Painters of the Southeast, Judge's Choice, Awarded by Barbara Flowers

Art in the Open, Wexford Ireland, Honorable Mention, Quick Draw, Wexford, Ireland

Judge, Ohio Plein air Painters Association Paintout

Juror, Judge, and Foreman, 88th Annual Hoosier Salon, Indianapolis, IN

2011

Art in the Open, Wexford Ireland, Honorable Mention, Quick Draw, Wexford, Ireland

Los Gatos Plein Air Festival, Artists' Choice Award, CA

Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein air Invitational, Honorable Mention, Quick Draw, Apalachicola, FL

Callaway Gardens Plein Air Festival, First Place Quick Draw, Georgia, Awarded by Jean Stern

American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Show Chair, Carmel, CA

Plein air Painters of the Southeast, Exhibition, Huntsville Museum of Art, AL

Randy Higbee, 6x6 Squared Exhibition, Laguna Beach, CA

Juror and Judge for Memphis Germantown Art League National Exhibition

Plein air Artists of Colorado National Juried Exhibition, Denver, CO

Juror and Judge, 87th Annual Hoosier Salon, Indianapolis, IN

Exhibitions:

2020

Sibling Rivalry: Lori Putnam and James Richardson, Meyer Vogl Gallery, Charleston, SC

Oil Painters of America 30th National Juried Exhibition, RS Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX

Oil Painters of America Salon Show Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils

American Impressionist Society 21st Annual National Juried Exhibition, Illume Gallery of Fine Art, St. George, UT

California Art Club 109th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition

Salmagundi Club New York Annual Members’ Show

Customs House Museum, Wonders of the West Exhibition, Clarksville, TN

2019

American Impressionist Society 3rd Annual Impressions Small Works Exhibition, Crooked Tree Arts Center,

Petoskey Michigan

NOAPS Spring International Online Exhibition

Oil Painters of America 29th National Juried Exhibition, Ilume Gallery of Fine Art, St. George, UT

Salmagundi Club Annual Members’ Exhibition, NYC, NY

Team USA/HMI Medical Conference, Ukraine

Salmagundi Spring 2019 Auction, NYC, NY

Virtuosos of OPA, Cutter & Cutter Fine Art, St. Augustine, FL

NOAPS 2019 Best of America Small Painting National Juried Exhibition, RS Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX

2018

American Impressionist Society 19th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Peninsula School of Art, Fish Creek, WI

National Oil and Acrylic Painters Association 28th International Juried Best of America Exhibition, Eisele Gallery of Fine Art, Cincinnati, OH

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Parks Exhibition, Hockaday Museum, Kalispell, MT

Plein air Easton Juried Exhibition, Easton, MD

Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein air Invitational Judge's Exhibition, Apalachicola, FL

LeQuire Gallery Solo Exhibition, Nashville, TN

Maui Plein air Invitational, Maui, Hawaii

2017

Legacy Gallery Small Works Show, Scottsdale, AZ

The Brinton 101, Big Horn, WY

Anglin Smith Fall Exhibition, Charleston, SC

Art in the Open, Adjudicator and Guest Exhibitor, Wexford, Ireland

Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein Air Invitational, Apalachicola, FL

Laguna Plein Air Painters in Residence: Birds, Bees and Botanicals Juried Art Show, Laguna, CA

Maui Plein Air Invitational, Maui, Hawaii

American Impressionist Society, Impressions: Small Works Showcase, Randy Higbee Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA

California Art Club 106th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition, Autry Museum, Los Angeles, CA

2016

Legacy Gallery Small Works Show, Scottsdale, AZ

Tucson Museum of Art, The New Westward: Trains, Planes, and Automobiles that Move the Modern West

Laguna Plein air Painters Association Signature Member Exhibition, Huntington Beach, CA

Scottsdale Artists' School Beaux Arts Exhibition, Scottsdale, AZ

Sedona Arts Center, Judge's Exhibition, Sedona AZ

American Impressionist Society Annual Juried Exhibition, Howard Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA, Award of Excellence

Oil Painters of America Salon Exhibition, Castle Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN

Oil Painters of American National Juried Exhibition, Southwest Gallery, Dallas, TX

Laguna Plein air Painters Association Plein air Invitational, Laguna Beach, CA

The Chestnut Group, Harpeth River Watershed Conservation Exhibition, Nashville, TN

Beverly McNeil Gallery Sporting and Wildlife Show, Birmingham, AL

The Brinton Museum Small Works Exhibition, Big Horn, WY

Maynard Dixon Camp Out, The Thunderbird Foundation, Mt. Carmel, UT

Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein Air Invitational, Apalachicola, FL, Artists' Choice Best in Show Award and Third Place Quick Draw

Outdoor Painters Society Guest Artist, Southwest Gallery, Dallas, TX

California Art Club 105th Gold Medal Exhibition, Autry Museum, Los Angeles, CA

All Along the Sierra, Epperson Gallery, Crocket, CA, First Place

Castle Gallery Valentine Invitational, Fort Wayne, IN

Maui Plein air Invitational, HI, Irvine Museum Award

2015

Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, Home for the Holidays, Laguna Beach, CA

Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, Along the Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano, CA

Legacy Gallery Small Works Show, Bozeman, MT and Scottsdale, AZ

Laguna Plein air Invitational, Laguna Beach, CA

American Impressionist Society Annual National Juried Exhibition, Scottsdale, AZ

Oil Painters of America Juried Salon Show, Birmingham, AL

Outdoor Painters Society, Dallas, TX

Western Masters Heart of the West Exhibition and Auction, Coeur d’Alene, ID

Judge, Door County Plein air Invitational, Door County, WI

LPAPA, California Impressionism: Plein air painting, Past and Present, Huntington Beach, CA

Solo Exhibition, Debra Huse Gallery, Balboa Island, CA

Spirit of Sedona Keynote Speaker and Guest Artist, Sedona, AZ

Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein Air Invitational, Apalachicola, FL

Olmsted Plein Air Invitational, Atlanta, GA, High Museum Judge's Award

Out West Show and Sale, Great Falls, MT

Maui Plein Air Invitational, HI

2014

Celebrating Florida’s Landscapes, Solo Exhibition, Sarasota, FL

Laguna Plein air Invitational, Laguna Beach, CA, Randy Higbee Gallery Award

Plein air Artists of Colorado National Juried Exhibition, Denver, CO

Judge, Finger Lakes Plein air Competition, Canandaigua, NY

American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Denver, CO, 3rd Place

Crested Butte Plein air Invitational, Crested Butte, CO

Salmagundi Masters, New York, NY

Forgotten Coast Plein air Invitational, Apalachicola, FL, Honorable Mention Quick Draw

Oil Painter’s of America National Juried Exhibition, Bennington, VT

Plein air Salon, 2013-14, Finalist

Maui Plein air Invitational

7 in the Spotlight, Illume Gallery of Fine Art, Salt Lake City, UT

2013

Oil Painters of American Online Showcase, Honorable Mention

Cumberland Society of Painters, Nashville, TN, Honorable Mention

Laguna Plein air Painters Association, Best of Plein air, First Place

Plein Air Richmond, Juried Plein air Festival, Honorable Mention

Oil Painters of America Fall Salon, Crooked-Tree Arts Center, Petosky, MI

Plein Air Artists of Colorado, National Juried Exhibition, Denver, CO, Second Place

Sedona Plein air Festival, Sedona, AZ, Merit Award

“Art in the Open” Plein Air, Wexford, Ireland

Modern Impressionists, Lori Putnam and Murat Kaboulov, two-man exhibit, Nashville, TN

Oil Painter’s of American National Juried Exhibition, Fredericksburg, TX

Laguna Plein air Painters Association, Less is More Exhibition, Laguna Beach, CA

Forgotten Coast Plein air Invitational, Port St. Joe, FL

2012

Salmagundi NYC Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition, Certificate of Merit

Judge, Easels of Frederick Plein air Festival, Frederick, MD

Plein Air Richmond, Juried Plein air Festival, Honorable Mention

Plein Air Artists of Colorado National Juried Exhibition, Denver, CO, 1st Place Signature Member Award

Los Gatos Plein air Festival, Best of Show, Los Gatos, CA

Women Painters of the Southeast, Juried Exhibition, Juror’s Choice Award

Plein air Easton Juried Plein air Festival, Easton, MD

American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition and Vice President, Indianapolis, IN

Forgotten Coast Plein air Invitational, Apalachicola, FL

2011

American Impressionists Society National Juried Exhibition and Show Chair, Carmel, CA

Plein Air Painters of the Southeast, Group Exhibition, Huntsville Museum of Art

“Art in the Open” Plein Air, Wexford, Ireland

Los Gatos Plein air Festival, Artists’ Choice Award, Los Gatos, CA

Eric Rhoads Publisher’s Invitational, “Paint the Adirondacks”

Randy Higbee, “6x6 Squared” Exhibition

Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, “Best of Plein Air” Exhibition

Callaway Gardens Plein Air Festival, Pine Mountain, GA, First Place in the Quick Draw Competition

Juror and Judge for the Memphis Germantown Art League National Exhibition

Juror and Judge for the 87th Annual Hoosier Salon, Indianapolis, IN

Plein Air Artists of Colorado Juried Exhibition, Denver, CO

Forgotten Coast Plein air Invitational, Honorable Mention Quick Draw, Port St. Joe, FL