The Masters of Art Nouveau Inspire Storm’s Painting Style

Inspired by the old masters, Lydia Storm has developed a style of art all her own.

Art Nouveau. Baroque. Victorian. “All of those styles are very inspiring to me,” Storm said. “I just love old art.

“Art nouveau is very natural and the subject is usually young women that are always dressed really nice,” she continued.

“Everything is very organic and I really like that kind of drama.”

In a similar way, that drama can be seen in the Baroque paintings on the big cathedral ceilings full of clouds and angels, she said.

“I think the drama is a lot of fun for most of those styles and they have good mastery of the human body,” she said.

“I like how they understood all the little bits and pieces to make real-looking people or what they knew about how real people looked and turned it into something that was unique for the time.”

Interested in art from a young age, Storm has been exploring various forms of expression and perfecting her craft for as long as she can remember.

“I’ve been drawing and painting since I was kid and I don’t remember there ever being a point that I started doing art for the first time, because it’s something I always did,” Storm said.

As she began her high school studies, Storm said her interest definitely “picked up and I found myself really wanting to improve.”

Storm is the daughter of Carl and Carrie Storm and granddaughter of Charles and Karen Storm all of Kingfisher.

She completed a homeschool curriculum before attending Oklahoma Baptist University where she earned a bachelor’s of art in May.

While at OBU, Storm said she had the opportunity to explore different aspects of various types of art.

Enjoying illustration classes at the university, Storm said she discovered the art of designing book covers and illustrations for books and magazines.

Her work from those classes earned her three American Advertising Awards (ADDY) - two golds and a silver.

She was also honored with OBU’s Outstanding Senior in Art Award.

When asked to describe her art style, Storm said it’s hard to define.

“I’ve played with a lot of styles over the years, so I feel like everything that I’ve done bleeds together or fits together into one thing,” she said.

“I do like more realistic things and I really like getting worked up over little details, trying to make sure everything is just right.”

Although she has worked with many styles and different mediums, Storm said oil painting is her favorite by far and that she hasn’t painted with anything else in a long time.

“I like how forgiving it is and you can just build up layer after layer, also making transparent layers with it too,” she said.

Having sold many of her pieces, Storm also does commission paintings and has several paintings on display for sale at Strange Brew Coffee House and Tea Room in Kingfisher, and where she also works.

Storm said she enjoys painting something just because she wants to or if it was an idea that she had and then being able to sell it.

“Seeing beauty in everything is very important… seeing it in people and places,” Storm said.

Seeing people in paintings or a landscape at an art museum or elsewhere, enjoying the beauty and also recognizing that somebody took the time to create it because they had an appreciation for it is really important, she added.

“I would hope when somebody looks at my art, they think the same thing… that somebody really com- -posed this well and captured the beauty, even if just for a moment they feel that,” Storm said.

While attending OBU, Storm also worked at the Mabee- Gerrer Museum of Art in Shawnee, where she had the opportunity to teach a class to students.

Contemplating what she wanted to do for the class, Storm said she decided to have the students work with acrylics and the turnout was greater than the sign-up, which was a little stressful.

Some kids learned things and the others just had fun and that’s really all that matters, she added.

“Maybe they went home and asked to paint with their parents and that was all I was hoping,” she said.

Currently planning a fall wedding to her fiancé, Elijah Frost, Storm said she continues to paint in her free time and hopes to grow and get better through the years.

“I think that as God’s creation, He left things here for us to enjoy,” Storm said.

“It’s amazing that over the centuries, people have enjoyed the same things and found the same things beautiful, creating masterpieces with them.”