West Newsmagazine 6/3/15

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WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
June 3, 2015
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I NEWS I 19
Ballwin artist ignores mother’s warning, finds fulfilling career
By JIM MERKEL
Loren Corell's mom warned him. But did
he didn’t listen to his mom. And you know
what happens to sons who don't listen to
their mom.
"My mother didn't think I could earn a
living as an artist," said the 79-year-old
Ballwin man, who grew up in Omaha.
So Corell headed to Omaha University
to major in engineering and minor in art.
Those ambitions did not last. He dropped
out of Omaha University to be a full-time
artist. With a wife, one child and $1,500 in
the bank, Corell started going through the
Yellow Pages to find advertising art jobs.
When he started, at the beginning of 1961,
he was charging customers $5 an hour.
was doing and could have continued
working for himself forever. But, when
he was about 50, he got a call from
Mutual of Omaha. One of the insurance
company's artists had slipped on ice and
was in a coma. Corell was asked to fill in.
He took the job and let someone else take
over his studio.
Although Marlin Perkins, known worldwide
as the face of "Mutual of Omaha's
Wild Kingdom," had already passed away,
Corell did get to know his replacement,
naturalist Jim Fowler.
"I did pretty much all of the Wild Kingdom
artwork. I also did their annual report,"
Corell said. He also did the artwork for
articles about animals that were generated
by the program.
Corell moved to the St. Louis area in
about 1991 to be around his grandkids.
For several years, he designed toys for
Walt Disney, M&Ms, Coca Cola and the
Cartoon Network, as an artist for the
Trendmasters toy company. Today, he
does about 10 shows a year, in places
like Omaha, Saugatuck, Michigan and
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and in local
shows such as the Art Show in Queeny
Park and the Artists Boutique in Kirkwood.
His work also is on display on a
regular basis at the Mind Works Gallery
in Chesterfield Mall.
Corell also finds time for his wife,
Sharon, his three daughters, and his nine
grandchildren.
"I'll be 80 in December. That's hard to
believe," he said. And despite his mom's
warning, he noted, "I'm still doing artwork
quite a bit. I paint every day."
Ballwin artist Loren Corell at work in his
studio.
"Two years later, I was charging $45 an
hour," he said.
At one time, he was offered $1,200 a
month to be a senior artist for a big department
store. It was big money, but he turned
it down. At that time, he was making $200
to $300 a month.
Although most of his work was for
advertising customers, Corell also showed
off his artistic side in shows of his painting.
He found ways to do both, such as having
one board set up for his advertising work
and another for his artistic stuff.
And he said, "I invented ways to paint fast."
One way was to smear on paint with a
paper towel.
"It has to be Viva. It doesn't leave a pattern,"
Corell said.
He said he also tried popsickle sticks and
Saran Wrap.
"I can paint faster, but I can also make it
very realistic using these materials," Corell
said. "I use a brush but not all the time ....
It's just the way I do it, I guess."
Corell was quite happy with what he
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