I first meet abstract artist Lauren Mycroft when she opens the door to her home with her eight-month-old son on her hip. He stares wide-eyed at me as she welcomes me in.

B次元官网网址淗e just woke up,B次元官网网址� she says with a smile, smoothing down his bedhead. Babe is soon bundled into a backpack and sent out into the yard with dad to take care of the ever-growing piles of leaves carpeting the grass, and Lauren leads me into her studio. ItB次元官网网址檚 a new space for her, she tells me; they just bought the 130-year-old farmhouse this past summer.

The farmhouse may still have a hint of that just-moved-in vibe, but Lauren fits well in her high-ceilinged studio, and it in turn is infused with her. A stack of finished and in-progress canvases leans against the back wall; the floor is a glorious spatter of paint in myriad hues. Glass jars full of well-loved brushes line the fireplace mantel like bouquets of wildflowers.

As someone looking in, itB次元官网网址檚 easy to assume sheB次元官网网址檚 always been at home as a painter. But for much of her early life, she knew she had a creative streak, but was never quite sure where it fit.

Lauren attended art school B次元官网网址� studying both at and B次元官网网址� but it wasnB次元官网网址檛 until well after sheB次元官网网址檇 graduated that she found her niche. Much of her time in school was spent just learning to paint, she says, with plenty of figurative and landscape pieces, and her last year was particularly difficult as she tried to find her place.

With a close family memberB次元官网网址檚 illness and other struggles in her personal life, Lauren had a hard time with the sometimes harsh, daily critiques and high-energy demands of school. She took a break from painting for a few years after graduating, and it wasnB次元官网网址檛 until she did an abstract collage class that everything fell back into place.

B次元官网网址淚t just clicked,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 felt like, this is what IB次元官网网址檓 supposed to be doing.B次元官网网址�

Then a close friend who was an interior designer commissioned her to do two pieces, and B次元官网网址渢hatB次元官网网址檚 where it all started.B次元官网网址� She balanced her day job B次元官网网址� as a career advisor in the mental health field B次元官网网址� with her art, but soon found herself inundated with commissions. Looking at her body of work, itB次元官网网址檚 not hard to imagine why her pieces were in demand. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a fluidity to them thatB次元官网网址檚 incredibly appealing, as is the way she harmonizes colours.

Her website describes her painting as B次元官网网址渁bstract works [that] reference organic shapes using complex layers and staining,B次元官网网址� using a B次元官网网址渃ontemporary palette and methodical layering technique.B次元官网网址�

Each piece develops almost as a dialogue between Lauren and the paints and dyes, with each mark influencing the one that comes after, until a complex and textured whole emerges.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very process drivenB次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very reactionary. It really forces you to let go.B次元官网网址�

A trio of linen-based works leaning against the studioB次元官网网址檚 far wall catch my eye. Striking combinations of magenta, a rich peacock green-blue and splashes of sepia stand out. Linen offers its own challenges compared to canvas, says Lauren. The palette has to complement the darker background (as opposed to working on white), the linen finish has a different relationship with the paints and dyes and itB次元官网网址檚 riskier. If the process doesnB次元官网网址檛 yield an end result LaurenB次元官网网址檚 happy with, thereB次元官网网址檚 no painting over and starting from scratch.

These particular pieces are also much smaller than LaurenB次元官网网址檚 usual, which is why sheB次元官网网址檚 been working on them.

B次元官网网址淚 never paint small, so IB次元官网网址檝e been trying to do as many small pieces as I can,B次元官网网址� she says.

Her determination to keep her skills fresh and stretch outside her comfort zone is evident.

Becoming a mom has kept her on her toes artistically as well, in that sheB次元官网网址檚 had to redefine how she approaches her studio schedule.

B次元官网网址淚 really find IB次元官网网址檓 a lot more efficient with my time since I had him,B次元官网网址� says Lauren, who makes time in the evenings to work, and has someone come once a week for child minding. B次元官网网址淚 love my time with him, and I love being in my studio.B次元官网网址�

Finding her way back to art through abstract painting helped lead Lauren to where she is now, a new mom, in a new home, with a renewed commitment to full-time art, and sheB次元官网网址檚 found a balance point between it all.

B次元官网网址淚 think if someone had asked me 10 years ago what I wanted my life to be, IB次元官网网址檇 have said I want to live in a really old house, with someone I love, [with] my child, my two dogs and with a great studio space,B次元官网网址� she says.

Her art has also helped her transform her inner critic into something constructive.

B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e a creative person, you probably have an unkind voice in your head,B次元官网网址� she says with a laugh. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard when someone doesnB次元官网网址檛 like a painting, but itB次元官网网址檚 harder when I donB次元官网网址檛. I just remind myself itB次元官网网址檚 a process. ItB次元官网网址檚 being ok with the piece when it takes a different direction.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e learned a lot about myself through painting abstractly,B次元官网网址� she adds: about her ability to let go of the end result, about the need to control the critic thatB次元官网网址檚 within all of us, of wanting things to look a particular way.

B次元官网网址淎lthough itB次元官网网址檚 my passion, painting has not always been an easy path for me; thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing that gives me as much anxiety and pure joy at the same time.B次元官网网址�

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- Story by Angela Cowan

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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