Going Home

I have an addiction to impulse purchasing canvasses & starting new art projects before finishing the ones I’ve already started. I can’t control myself when it comes to the allure of a fresh white canvas & a new idea. New canvasses are my not-so-secret guilty pleasure.

Unfortunately, this indulgence in new canvasses created an abandoned project clutter problem in my studio in recent months & it was starting to make me feel cluttered creatively as well so I made a decision that I was not allowed to buy any new canvasses until I did something about the many abandoned ones, I already had, laying around the studio.

I developed this collection as a textural exploration to unify the misfit of canvasses that had varying degrees of texture from past projects, none of which was cohesive. In my over-arching body of work, I often like to bring elements of chaos, calm & reflection – or sparkle if you will – and these pieces exemplify these elements as well as my love of painting with yellow gold.

The magic of these pieces exists in the final finishing layer which brings in the element of reflection. This hand-embellished layer has been introduced with a subtlety that avoids distracting from the colours & textures of the lower layers during the day, but comes to life in the evening when light becomes limited. If there is any hint of a light source, even in a dimly lit room, the reflective layer will sparkle & make the artwork still a pleasure to view.

Each piece has been float framed in solid Tasmanian Oak, which has been hand sprayed gold (of course) & is fitted with a saw tooth hanger. Though it is not visible, each piece has been hand signed on the outer bottom edge of the canvas (located under the float framing) & the edges of the canvas have been lovingly gilded & glittered – this is my standard practice, even when pieces are framed, because you never know what the future will bring.

By now you have probably gathered that “Gildy Pleasures” is a play on words to identify this gilded collection painted on the many abandoned canvasses I had impulse purchased, my not so secret guilty (artist) pleasure. If you are the auspicious type, I felt that for a collection of distinctly golden artworks it was only fitting to release in a series of 8 individual pieces in the hopes this collection brings every bit of prosperity & richness to your home, if not just a lovely bit of sparkle sparkle.

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Hi – I’m Lauren, but feel free to call me Loz!

I’ve identified with being an artist my whole life, but life has often gotten in the way, so it has taken me a REALLY long time to get here.

Graduating from high school way, way back in the 90’s, art as a career felt completely out of reach. So, after indulging in every art class I could during school, off I plodded into adulthood to get a “real job.” Other than a brief stint in art & design at college in 2000, my art was relegated to hobby status, a status it kept until my late 20’s, when it slipped off the radar entirely.

I found my way back to art in 2019 (after a 12-year hiatus). Having recently relocated overseas with my husband & two children, I started attending creative work shops in the hopes of connecting with some new people, what I wasn’t expecting is that I would reconnect with myself. My passion for art was so quickly reignited that it only took a very short stint back in the corporate world to realise art is where I belong & I haven't put the brushes down since.

As a now *cough*mature age artist*cough*, I would describe my much of my work as colourful chaos, some with a smidge of rebellious humour, some with a lot of deep feelings & all of it with a LOT of palpable energy. I consider myself as a bit of a “Jill of many trades” artist, because I paint wherever my imagination, or my emotions, take me & find it impossible to niche down, I am constantly overwhelmed with inspiration to paint all the things. You could say when it comes to the rule book of art, I do tend to piff it out the window & flip it the bird…but not before covering it in a crap-tonne of paint & glitter, of course!

At a first glance my body of work can sometimes look disjointed, but the more you experience it, the more you can start to see running themes, symbols, colours, subjects, patterns & mediums that thread through most of it. Much of my art is inspired by my very own experiences, stories, feelings, memories & emotions, very little of it exists, just because. My style is often recognisable due to my tendency towards a more is more aesthetic that evolves from myriads of layers, which come together to create a weirdly evocative balance of chaos & calm. A lot of people who experience my work in person (particularly my abstract pieces), often tell me they appreciate how it is the kind of work where "the longer you look, the more you see," which makes it feel ever evolving & giving. I think my style is quite reflective of the fact that, as a late diagnosed neurodivergent human being, I have a relentlessly loud & chaotic, complex mind.

Needless to say, I have a deeply intimate relationship with the therapeutic benefits of creating. However, what inherently inspires me to keep creating, what I relish the most, is witnessing the connection & meaning people find in my work for themselves. When people feel seen, comforted, relatable, feel joy & even healing, in my art, my heart cracks wide open. Better yet, when people feel inspired, or empowered, by my work, I like to think that maybe my art is helping them to go out into the world & totally kick-ass. If that is the legacy I leave in this lifetime, it feels pretty sweet.

If you are here to purchase a piece of my art, thank you so much. I can't explain enough how honoured & humbled I am when someone chooses a part of my story, to become a part of theirs.