Local artist begins year with 100 inspirational paintings

Arlington Heights, IL - Chicago area artist Lynell Ingram is announcing the completion of "The Inspiration Project," 100 paintings of inspirational people in (approximately) 100 days. Portrait subjects include historical figures, activists young and old, as well as artists, scientists, and authors. The full project can be viewed online at www.lynellingram.com/inspiration-project.

The Inspiration Project began in early January and has been an opportunity to research and pull together an in-depth and inclusive directory of real people who have achieved real change by being firsts in their fields, educators, ground breakers, and policy shifters that often had to stand up to adversity.

Ingram's paintings blend semi-traditional watercolor likenesses with colorful and unexpected elements such as collage, graphic color fields, inks and patterns.

Regarding the project, Ingram stated, "I wanted to highlight the good in our world, and change that has and is being done by real, flawed people, just like us. The challenges of the last year touched all of us in some way, and this was my way to bring about some color and inspiration to what may be a dark and difficult time for so many."

Lynell Ingram is a Chicago area watercolor and mixed-media artist who has come to believe that the best use of her artistic skills is to both inspire and open doors to discussions about humanity, mental health, and women's rights. She received a BFA in Illustration from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design after which she worked as a graphic artist. After years of working in design, she decided to make a change and reach out into the world with her own voice. Since then she has been teaching herself unconventional ways to paint with watercolors and exploring media that wasn't taught with a design background. With a hope to spark joy and curiosity, lift important purposes, and add a little extra dose of color into the world, she is a media experimenter, a life-long learner, a believer in passion, and a bit of a creative madwoman.