Artist bio

Lois Woolley is an award-winning painter who specializes in portraiture. She approaches every commission with warmth and sensitivity. She paints each person with the goal of revealing the things they like best about themselves. Her style combines traditional realism with rich, impressionistic color.

Lois’s passion for art and portraiture began during her childhood, which was spent near Washington, DC. Her family encouraged her talent with frequent visits to the city’s art museums, and summer classes at the Corcoran Gallery. Lois moved to New York when she was eighteen to continue her education at the Art Students League. She has studied with Robert Beverly Hale, Robert Brackman, Daniel Greene, David Leffel, and Hongnian Zhang. These teachers have had the greatest influence on the development of her talent and style. In 2000, she co-authored The Yin-Yang of Painting, which presents Zhang’s color theory, palette and methods.

Lois’s public portrait commissions include a Harvard dean and an executive of the Hospital Workers Union. Her work has been featured in New Art International, Northlight’s Pure Color: The Best of Pastel, The Pastel Journal, and Hudson Valley Magazine. Honors include awards from the Pastel Society of America, the American Artists Professional League, The Woodstock Artist Museum, and the Portrait Society of America (best portfolio 2004). She works primarily in oil and pastel, and the majority of her paintings are held in private collections.