Book cover of 'Art & Love: My Life Illuminated in Egg Tempera' by Lora Arbrador, featuring abstract artwork and yellow background.

COMING JULY 2025!

Art & Love: My Life Illuminated in Egg Tempera

The memoir of a woman’s quest to master the ancient art of egg tempera painting, gain confidence as an artist and find lasting love.

It’s 1966 and unaware that a counterculture tsunami is brewing, Lora Arbrador arrives in Berkeley, California where she is introduced to egg tempera, a homemade paint that combines colorful pigments with egg yolk. Lora falls in love with the luminous medium but cannot find a teacher to unravel its mysteries.

Art and love converge when she falls for a tender, charismatic artist. But after their eight-month immersion in the great museums of Europe, Lora follows him into a commune that she later realizes has become a cult.

Set against a backdrop of huge cultural changes – from the counterculture of the 1960s and back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s, to the AIDS epidemic and sex underground of the 1980s – Art & Love is a journey of creative and emotional fulfillment that captivates, educates and entertains the reader.

Arbrador’s stunning artwork enhances the narrative, inspiring those grappling with their own artistic expression and longing for love.

Includes bonus essay “Which Came First? A Taste of Egg Tempera History.”

I paint bold and tender images of love, healing and dying in the ancient medium of egg tempera.

And now…I’ve written a book!

ADVENTURES IN NURSING SCHOOL”

How nurse training shaped me as a healer and artist

A woman in a blue cardigan and colorful scarf is painting at a table. She is holding a paintbrush over a palette with green, brown, and red paint, next to a bowl of eggs. A painting is visible in the background.

At the age of 19, Lora Arbrador was given a recipe for making egg tempera paint by a college professor who admitted no knowledge of the technique. Like a musician with a strong affinity for a particular instrument, Arbrador found her creative home in egg tempera.

To support her art practice, Arbrador became a registered nurse and the medical world has been the inspiration for many of her paintings.

Captivated by the fascinating history of egg tempera, Arbrador created two presentations: What is Egg Tempera? and Which Came First? A Taste of Egg Tempera History. In 1997, Arbrador co-founded the Society of Tempera Painters.

Arbrador has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the US, including South Bend Regional Museum of Art, Wenatchee Valley College Art Gallery and the Bade Museum of the Pacific School of Religion. 

When not painting, writing or practicing nursing, Arbrador discovers new plants for her shade garden, plays banjo and learns songs from the Great American Songbook. Her home studio is in San Francisco, California, USA. 

About Me

Gallery

Surreal painting of a man holding a glass in one hand and dozens of pills in the other. In the upper right is a cake inscribed, "Bon Voyage Tom."

Original egg tempera paintings, archival prints, greeting cards, blank journals and my book Art & Love

Shop

Blank Journal: Painting of a nude woman in yoga Tree Pose against an ornate, Persian patterned background in warm red-brown tones.
Greeting card of a painting depicting a nude woman in Triangle yoga pose against an art deco purple-patterned wall, with a gradient floor and background.
Framed painting of  Hands to Feet yoga pose. The background is cerulean blue.

Newsletter / Blog on Substack

A painting depicting two intertwined figures with flowers growing between them like a planter box on a turquoise background. Image is overlaid with the text "Art Blotter Plus". Below is a portrait of a smiling woman in front of bamboo fence.

In Art Blotter Plus I reveal the fascinating art of a little-known painter. I also share my painting-in-progress and news about my book Art & Love: My Life Illuminated in Egg Tempera which will be published in July 2025.

Plus I delve into esoteric medical topics, plants for my shade garden, my son Amos Goldbaum’s amazing art and more. I end with a song from the Great American Songbook.

READ BLOG POSTS

100 Quotations About

Art & Love

Book titled "100 Quotations About Art and Love" compiled by Lora Abrador with a yellow cover and abstract artwork at the bottom.

Forever free - my collection of 100 inspiring quotations that explore the connection between creativity and love. Lots of paintings and photos throughout by artists, philosophers, and writers.