October 2026
Dr. Lori Ann Petrilli
For this month, WRAC features visual artist Dr. LoriAnn Petrilli. Although she lives in Winnipeg, her family has been enjoying their cottage in Lac duBonnet for almost 30 years. And she and her husband look forward to retiring there.
She loves soft pastels because when you are holding pure pigment in your hand you can blend it with your fingers, thus, feeling physically and emotionally the development of the painting.
For 32 years, she has worked as a chiropractor, currently practicing in Steinbach, Manitoba with her husband of 31 years. They have one son, who will turn twenty this year, and his interest in the world around him helped teach her how to see shapes and colours.
“When he was little, he would ask me repeatedly to draw things for him to colour,” she said. “These things ranged from Ernie and Bert, to animals, all the way to the detail of Transformers. He would point out in a way that only a child can do, that Bert was pointy and Ernie’s face was the shape of a football.”
She loved their time creating together and it helped her develop something she always wanted to be able to do – paint pretty pictures. She used to say, “I can’t paint a stick man to save my soul!” Now she says, “My son, and my painting, have helped me to heal it.”
Dr. Petrilli has been inspired and taught by Karen Margulis, Bethany Fields, Marla Baggeta, and Tony Allain. Also, she is a member of the Pastel Artists of Canaada, the Red Rock Pastel Society of Nevada, and Steinbach Arts.
She said, “Thank goodness for YouTube, Patreon and Zoom. Thank you to my son, husband and my family and friends for all their encouragement and feedback too.”
Also, she likes to get involved in community projects. Recently, she became a member of WRAC, entered her artwork in the Eastman Judged Art Exhibition held in June at Great Falls Hall, and volunteered to help with the setup of this art exhibition.
Her artistic motto: “I paint because it feels good to paint, but it feels even better if other people like my art.”
