Lorraine Toler Art

My love of painting narratives started with painting this series of my mother Kim Okchun who was a child refugee from North Korea. My mother was twelve-years old when she was forced to escape her life in North Korea; it was an escape that left her orphaned and alone.  On the ten-year anniversary of her death, I started to paint the stories of her life to honor her by creating these images in her honor.  These are highly personal to me and helped me bridge the gap with the family I will never know.