Art Brokerage: Maui artist Lori Higgins was born at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on June 28, 1970 and was the first of four children. Her father was an FBI agent and now a former Navy Captain. Her mother was a teacher (stepmother: Barbara Corcoran). Lori started showing extraordinary talent in art at a very young age. At age ten, her mother would drop her off at an old broken down barn where she took painting lessons from an eccentric painter. After high school, Lori’s continued interest in the arts led her to the Art Institute of Philadelphia where she studied Graphic Design and RIT. Unsatisfied and fueled by her own independence and adventurous spirit, she left after a year and a half to travel across the United States and Mexico. But her father convinced her to return to school and get a degree (“in anything”) with the promise of paying for her studies. Lori has always been fascinated by the mind and spirit so she ended up receiving her degree in Psychology from Schiller International University in Europe. In 1994, Lori’s adventurous spirit and compulsion to contribute to the world, pushed her to join a British humanitarian aid organization. That organization helped to bring relief into war-torn Bosnia. What started out as a brief volunteer job, turned into a ten-month sojourn of driving aid convoys, smuggling supplies and refugees across the front lines. Lori witnessed danger, death and destruction unlike anything most of us will ever see. She also experienced the extreme opposing forces of human nature, ones of pure love, compassion, camaraderie, and empathy. After returning to the states, Lori was more determined than ever to find her true purpose in life. Odd jobs like bartending and teaching scuba were just necessary evils in a world of endless running from the memories of her experiences. On her way to Micronesia in 1997, Lori made an unscheduled stop in Maui. The island reached out and grabbed her like no other place had ever done. Her spirit was soothed and a sense of purpose was drawing her in. She decided to stay and her life was changed forever. The one thing that had remained constant in Lori's life was the craving to create something of substance. Now, she was in the right time and place for it to flourish. Lori was at a young enough age with an incredible amount of life experience under her belt to actually create and cultivate something of significance. It actually wasn’t until a trip to Tibet later that year when she truly realized the significance of her artistic talent. The seed planted at the age of ten started to bud and Lori began to paint in earnest. Self taught, through discipline and the supportive encouragement of her mother, she devoted every day to developing her talent, skill and spiritual growth. Higgins paints with the power of emotion. It is art that was not learned from formal training but derives directly from the soul. This energy is apparent to anyone who looks at her work. It is art that captures the invisible energy transmitted and sought by us all. This is the work of Lori Higgins. Realism.