It Started With a Feeling
It Started With a Feeling-that couldn’t be ignored
It began with a superbloom.
In 2020, I was living in the Santa Barbara area, and California experienced one of its most spectacular wildflower seasons in my memory — so vast it could be seen from space. Flowers I had never seen before erupted across the landscape in waves of gold, violet, and orange. That super bloom created the desire to visit as many beautiful places as possible. much beauty just waiting to be painted.
Over the next four years I explored. The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, wow, what a view. The Getty Villa in Malibu and its beautiful gardens. The treasures of the Huntington Library. Descanso Gardens with its breathtaking oaks. The Santa Barbara Botanical Garden. The community garden in Carpinteria. The Santa Ynez Valley. Yosemite. Yellowstone. The Grand Tetons. The beauty of Montana and Jackson Hole. Even the drive up Highway 5 between California and Oregon became inspiration — those boring brown hills became like gold velvet rolling across the landscape.
I have always loved color. For 45 years as a professional hairdresser and haircolorist, it was my language. I spent years learning about how color was created and built ,what the base colors of the pigments were and how they interacted with each other. I learned how to build contrast, and create light and dark tonal values that enhanced the dimension of the colors. Each color has its own personality and power. Color isn't just something you see. It's something you feel. I have always painted, so it was only natural that when I retired, all of those years of living inside color took on a new direction.
The process of a painting begins long before I pick up a brush. It starts as a feeling that pushes me to create something. Sometimes that takes me outside to the garden, or on a drive to take in the landscape or see the sky with its glorious clouds.The exploration is the beginning.
When I finally begin a canvas, I start with fluid acrylics and a spray bottle. I love paint dripping. building layer after layer. Different brushes, crayons, ink, unexpected tools — until something begins to emerge. It can happen fast and be beautiful, or take a long time and feel like a mess. I just keep going, a little white paint, a little more color, some torn music paper, some texture, a scribble here and there, a leaf sketch or messy flower in pastel, some ink splashed or dripped, contrasting colors next to each, some finger painting, just having fun. The painting takes me on its journey every time.
I paint intuitively moved by color, beauty, and the feeling that something extraordinary is right of front of me. It is my sincere desire that you will experience the journey and see something that touches your heart, and reminds you to see and feel the beauty.
From my heart to yours-
Laura
