Local Woman's Art Inspired by Vibrant Colors

Dorothy Lampl, who loves to play with color, currently has a display of vibrant art depicting skewed structures and little worlds at.

“What I take away from them is that I just have a lot of joy when I see so much color like that and I hope they look at a painting on their wall and think, ‘Things are good.’ I like to say it’s happy art,” Lampl said.

The Squirrel Hill woman connected with several years ago as their sons also are friends.

“I started painting these canvasses last summer and I was sitting in Square Cafe looking around thinking, this would look really nice in here. She said OK and that was that,” Lampl said.

A lifelong artist, Lampl said she has dabbled in several different mediums over the years.

“I spent many years painting furniture and then I have always made greeting cards, do shadow boxes and I got into these canvasses and I just really love doing it and working with a lot of color,” she said. “I started with this concept of crooked buildings, and one of my sisters reminded me that I used to do things in windows a long time ago, so I did that, but also, I don’t love flat art, so I added the 3D windows and frames, some have little miniature people, so you have to go up close and really study them.”

Lampl said her collection of paintings are open to interpretation for everyone.

“I just really like the idea of looking in or looking out and seeing what’s going on - with a lot of crazy things going on in one painting,” she said.

Lampl’s intent behind her art is simple.

“I just feel like living with a lot of color is a positive thing,” she said. “I don’t really have a rhyme and reason for the colors - I just go with what I feel like. I never get sick of it - I just love to play with color all the time.”

Lampl’s art will be on display at Square Cafe until the end of April. For more information e-mail her at doseee@gmail.com.

Full disclosure: Local Editor Stephanie Rex previously worked at Square Cafe as a server during college.