Lonnie Zarem

STATEMENT

I intend to express my observations, interactions, and interpretation of the living world around me. I mean to capture the simple, honest, and elegant moments when I feel profoundly connected to people, plants and animals and the meaningful interactions and shifts of daily life. It is my joy to share these experiences through my work.

The fluid and unstable nature of the encaustic media offers unique freedoms to
explore layering, depth, line, and color all while preparing for a pull off print. This invites an energetic, physical, and immediate focus which can be dynamically expressed on rice papers. This expressive process is inherently exploratory and offers me endless possibilities to express the fundamental truths I search for.

BIO

Lonnie Zarem is a professional fine artist with a focus on making Encaustic Monotypes. Following art school, and several years of oil painting, she started to paint with Encaustic Wax, a medium consisting of beeswax, resin, and pigment. This means creating an image by painting with blocks of pigmented wax on a hot flat plate, and then placing rice paper on it to absorb the melted wax image, and then pulling it off for a one time print. For the last 15 years, Lonnie has been pushing the possibilities of making contemporary encaustic monotypes; developing new methods, stretching and modifying wax application, working large scale, incorporating varied drawing approaches, and exploring color to achieve her highly expressive representational abstract monotypes.

When asked what inspires her work, she said, “I have always been fundamentally inspired by my relationship with the natural world. I want to experience the special moments that arrive from being aware, when it’s most beautiful, when it’s most simple, when it’s most profound, when contrasts are arresting. I want to visually capture it in my mind before it’s gone, to register it in a pure, simple, and honest way. I look to see things raw, wild, and unbundled from the demands of daily life. It’s my intension to capture natures’ announcements of change, of transition. I am urged to respond and interpret these moments in terms of the emotion and meaning they have for me, to find these beautiful memories and make them seeable, and shareable!

Lonnie currently lives and works in her studio in Los Altos Hills, California. She was born in Southern California where she grew up playing tennis with the intention of turning professional. This led to her recruitment to UC Irvine where she graduated with a B.A. in economics. After years working as a marketing professional, she married Hal Zarem and had three sons. The family moved to Northern California in 2000, at which time Lonnie decided to formally pursue her art career. This led to art school at San Jose State University, School of Fine Arts and the many years of making, showing, and selling her work as well as being an art instructor for the last 8 years. She enjoys family, friends, and an active life filled with the wonder, beauty, nature’s wildness, and the quest for new adventures!

EXHIBITIONS/SHOWS/COMMISSIONS

Solo Exhibitions:
9/2023 Solo Exhibition at Pacific Art League, CA
“ Footprints of the Ephemeral”, 20 new large encaustic monotype works, including 102 x 72” Triptych

9/2023 Solo Exhibition at Pacific Art League, CA
“ Footprints of the Ephemeral”, 20 new large encaustic monotype works, including 102 x 72” Triptych

1-3/2023 2020 Solo Show Lola’s Art Gallery (Lola of San Fransisco), San Fransisco, CA
Solo exhibit Jan 3 - Jan 31; “Moments of Expression: 13 Encaustic Monotype Prints

2/2006 Solo Student Show San Jose State University


Group Exhibitions:

4/24-6/24 FUSED, A celebration of Encaustic Art
Curated into Group Show, ART ARK Gallery, San Jose, CA

1/24-3/24 Northern California Museum of Art, Chico, CA
Juried- “Birds of the Marsh Triptych” Encaustic Monotype 96 x 66

11/23 -1/24 104th Anniversary of Pacific Art League
Juried -“Color of Water”, Encaustic Monotype 30x30, “Snow Flower”, Encaustic Monotype 18 x 24

10/23 International Encaustic Artists “Ephemeral” Mulranny, Ireland
Juried - “ Spring Reflections” Encaustic Monotype 31 x 22’

9/2023 Refuse of the Bay; Juried - Metal Haus Refuse of the Bay, Oakland CA
Juried Online Gallery

5/2023 Northern California Womens Caucus for Art & ARC Project & Gallery, Oakland, CA
Juried-“PORTALS” Exhibition - Juried , “Infinity”, Encaustic Monotype 28 x 39

5/2023 International Encaustic Arts and San Antonio Arts League and Museum, San Antonio, TX
Juried - “Wax and Wildflowers” Exhibition - Juried, “Field of Spring”, Encaustic Monotype 44 x 48”
AWARDED: International Encaustic Artists Board, “Award For Excellence”

4//2023 Encaustic Art Institute “Joy” Exhibition - Juried, Santa Fe New Mexico
Juried - “Poppies in a Spring Storm”, Encaustic Monotype

4/2023 Cami Art & Wine “CAKE” Show Calistoga, CA
Juried - Pansy Cake-Encaustic Monotype, Blue Spring Cake- Encaustic Monotype, Cotton Candy Cake- Archival Pigment Print


2022 Pacific Art League, 101st Anniversary Exhibition-
Juried -101st Anniversary Exhibition Nov.11th-Jan 17, 2023 “ Merlot” Encaustic Monotype


2022 Pacific Art League, CA (January) Ode to California- Juried
Juried - “California Winter: Bulbs Reaching”

2018 (December) - 2019 (January) Pacific Art League, CA “Artist Showcase:
Juried - “Pink” Oil, “The Conversation” Oil, “Laughing face” Encaustic Monotype print, “The Loser” Encaustic Monotype, The Party” Diptych Encaustic Painting

2018 Pacific Art League, CA AWARDED : Third Place in Juried show “97th Anniversary”,
‘Waiting Face’ Encaustic Monotype, ink, pastel

2018 Arts Guild of Sonoma, CA Juried in National show-“Art in an Age of Anxiety”, 'Waiting Face', Encaustic Monotype Print and Ink

2018 Pacific art League, CA Juried “Human Form”
'Laughing Man', Encaustic Monotype Print

2018 Pacific Art League, CA Juried “Abstract Explorations”
Coal Miners Morning, Encaustic Monotype Print and Blue Face, Encaustic Monotype Print

2018 San Diego Art Guild, CA Juried AWARDED “Best in Show”
Coal Miner’s Morning, Encaustic Monotype Print

2018 San Diego Art Guild, CA Juried AWARDED “1st place mixed media”
Distant Face, Encaustic Monotype Print and Charcoal

2016 Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA - Member Show

2006 San Jose State University, Solo show

2004 Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA Juried Show, AWARDED “Honorable Mention”
Nude Drawing, Pastel

EDUCATION

2002-2005 San Jose State University, School of Art and Design,
Bachelor of Fine Arts Program

1984-1986 UCLA, Anderson School of Management,
Executive MBA Program

1976 - 1980 UC Irvine;
B.A. in Economics

Organizations:
Northern California Women’s Caucus of the Arts: Member since 2016
Encaustic Art Institute since 2022
International Encaustic Artists since 2019

AWARDS

Awards:
2/2024 International Encaustic Artists, awarded honor of being 1 of 10 paid Mentors for emerging encaustic artists
9/2023 International Encaustic Artists Project Grant for 2023 AWARDED
9/2023 Instructor of the Year, Pacific Art League
7/2023 International Encaustic Artists Board AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE for “Field of Spring”
4/2023- Unanimously juried into the Santa Fe Gallery Association's 2023 Artist Catalog
2018 Pacific Art League, CA AWARDED : Third Place in Juried show “97th Anniversary”,
‘Waiting Face’ Encaustic Monotype, ink, pastel
2018 San Diego Art Guild, CA Juried AWARDED “Best in Show”
Coal Miner’s Morning, Encaustic Monotype Print

Other Honors:
2019 Artist in Residence, Ghost Ranch New Mexico
Participated with 18 artists in individual and group work. Culminated in a public
art exhibit and gala.

2023 America Association of University Women - Tahoe Nevada “Creativity..A Way Of Being”, Gave a Talk/Workshop

2022 Pacific Art League ; Emerging Artists.
Student show with Lonnie Zarem as Instructor Oct. 7 - Oct 25
10 students exhibited their work of 2 years studying Abstract Expressionism with Lonnie Zarem

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

3/2024 Orchestrated Collaboration of Pacific Art League/International Encaustic Artists to create an international encaustic exhibit “Changing the Narrative

2/2024 Mentor for Emerging Artists - International Encaustic Artists

9/2023 Instructor of the Year Award- Pacific Art League

9/2023-Instructor/ Collaboration with Pacific Art League to launch the “Encaustic Monotype Center”: including workshops, classes, open studio time, and an annual international encaustic exhibit.
Instruct courses and workshops; manage the center with PAL

2018-Current Art Instructor: Pacific Art League, Palo Alto CA
Courses Include: Abstraction Expressionism Series, Creativity Workshop, Abstract Art Critique Workshops, Beginning and Intermediate Encaustic Painting courses, Advanced Encaustic Painting/Sculpture courses, Encaustic Monotype Printing Workshops & classes

1988- 1995 Founder, Strategic Marketing Consultant; Technology Marketing Services

TAGS

Abstract artist, encaustic monotypes, large energetic expressionist encaustic monotypes