Lorraine Loots, SG Collection: Raffles Hotel
For artist Lorraine Loots, it’s the little things that add up. #ANTSinSINGAPORE, her first solo exhibition in Asia, is a culmination of 3 years of dedication to her craft, and will showcase 100 artist’s proof prints from Potluck 100 | Painting for Ants, Loots’ latest series which is centred around themed days of the week.
“When I started doing miniatures, people would often question what I’d do with something so small. So I just started saying that they were made for ants.”
The 31-year-old from Cape Town, South Africa started small by devoting an hour every day to paint as a way of keeping her passion for art alive. In order to complete something within her self-imposed time limit, Loots chose to paint at a minuscule scale and started her 365 Paintings for Ants project.
For her first project, the artist allowed the public to select specific calendar dates to suggest the subject matter and reserve the painting produced that day, resulting in a highly-collaborative collection.
Its worldwide success — all her paintings were sold out online before her inaugural exhibition even began — propelled her to continue with 365 Postcards for Ants, a miniature painting series inspired by everyday life in Cape Town.
Despite its humble beginnings, “Paintings for Ants” has allowed Loots to become a full-time artist with over 700 miniatures under her belt. “Ironically, it’s a project I started because I didn’t want to be an artist anymore,” Loots tells us, explaining that a business course for artists initially turned her off from practising art full-time. Quitting her day job has allowed Loots to commit even more time to her art as her paintings become even more complex, some requiring several hours to complete.
The 100 works featured in #ANTSinSingapore was completed over 25 weeks, with each day devoted to a specific theme. ‘Microcosm Mondays’ features impressive watercolour paintings of galaxies and nebulas; ‘Tiny Tuesdays’ presents vintage book covers; ‘Fursdays’ is a collection of animal paintings; and ‘Free Fridays’ lets Loots go wild with her paintbrush.
In addition to the framed prints, a limited number of posters from each theme will be on sale.
The exhibition will also present 5 original miniatures Loots has painted just for Singapore. Depicting local buildings of historical and cultural significance, Loots’ paintings will be available for sale exclusively at K+.
Miniature Workshop: Loots will also be holding her very first miniature painting workshop for Singapore fans. Participants will learn how to paint orchids, Singapore’s beloved flower, in Loots’ signature style. The 3-hour workshop will be held on 16 September, Saturday (3pm – 6pm) and is limited to 20 participants only. Registration can be done online.
Launch Party: Friday, 15 September 2017, 6.30pm — 9pm
Venue: K+ Curatorial Space, Scotts Square #03-11/12/13, 6 Scotts Road, Singapore 228209
When: 15 Sep - 29 Oct 2017,
