Loretta Hamilton

Loretta Hamilton can’t remember a time when she didn’t want to draw and create images of people. She grew up with dreams of being an artist. But her practical side won out and instead, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Roosevelt University and went to work in the corporate world. She didn’t give up the dream however, and eventually attended art classes and workshops at Triton College, Benedictine University and the Naperville Art League. Most recently, Loretta has studied with local artist and instructor, Andria Burchett. The final result of her art studies and perseverance has evolved into a unique style that is all her own.

Loretta started her charcoal nude series following a search for art to hang in her own home. After browsing through galleries and not finding what she wanted, she decided to draw her own. Her other passion, buying and selling antiques, and her appreciation for historical detail, inspired her use of antique frames which she restores and hand paints to complement her artwork. Loretta’s latest work, portraiture, has taken her on a new path creating contemporary and vintage portraits using watercolors and pastels, as well as color, sepia-toned and black and white pencil images.

Loretta lives in Naperville, Illinois and in Naples, Florida. She is a member of the Naperville Art League and her work has shown at the Antiques on Jefferson Mall in downtown Naperville and in galleries in the River North art district of downtown Chicago, Poe.M Art House in Downers Grove, Arbor Vitae Java and Juice (located within Northern Illinois University's Naperville Campus), www.boundlessgallery.com and www.discoveredartists.com. Contact information for portrait commission: lorettasgallery@yahoo.com.