Girl Noticed is a nationwide charcoal mural project aimed at bringing attention and awareness to the important role “the female” plays in our society.
Hollywood based portrait artist Lori Pratico and photographer Elizabeth Sanjuan will be traveling to 50 states in 3 years to erect a series of detailed charcoal portraits, created as large exterior murals. Each mural will depict a female chosen from the area in which the mural will be painted. The murals will be crafted in charcoal, with the idea that weather conditions will naturally and quickly fade away these images. There is a window of time to “Notice” the artwork that has been created. This represents the message: “when an individual’s talents, intelligence, and character are left unnoticed, they may fade away, disappear, and never be seen or developed into their full potential.” Each individual chosen will be photographed alongside her portrait, and these photos will comprise a book to be published at the completion of the project.

Lori Pratico started her artistic career over 25 years ago, painting commercial billboards in Philadelphia. She then turned to creating her own art, most often portraits, and says: “My artwork is inspired by those who dare to be different. My paintings are often of women with tattoos, or brightly colored hair, but more importantly, women who have chosen to be happy with themselves despite what labels society has placed on them. When painting a portrait, I reach for the inside of a person. I know if I get the inside right, the outside will simply fall into place.”

Now she has decided to return to climbing walls. She explains “Over 25 years later, I’m back to painting walls, but with a different goal: to bring attention to important issues surrounding the demoralization of women, and to recognize the strength, courage, talents and tenacity of females throughout the United States. I’m creating something you have no choice but to notice. The first mural was done in Hollywood, Florida in January 2015. Before my 50th birthday, I will travel 50 states and create at least 50 murals. Art has always been where I have found my voice, and I aim to be heard. In a world where everyone is in a hurry I’m asking you to pause. My portraits challenge you to look closer, look longer and see differently.”

Elizabeth Sanjuan began her travel and photography adventures while at American Airlines, where she worked for 25 years. Now a recognized philanthropist and co-owner of Gallery 2014 in Hollywood, Florida, she has traveled to over 73 countries and plans to see at least 100 by the time she reaches age sixty. She and her husband, Ken Brown, founded the Sanjuan-Brown Hollywood Arts Foundation in 2012, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts and arts education. World travel is her vehicle and photography is her medium. “My passion is to discover, through travel, the vast mosaic of people, lands and cultures that the world offers; and to record, as faithfully as I can, the incredible panorama of color, pattern and energy that bombards the receptive eye. Travel gives me the opportunity to observe, but I believe the lens intensifies my ability to truly understand. I want to convey the world's incredible variety and to create an awareness, understanding and respect for humankind through photographic images. I am constantly reminded that even though people live worlds apart, we are truly all the same. Our hopes, dreams, loves and losses are all captured in our faces. The camera provides objective proof of our commonality.”