Lauren Quist

“Light, texture, contrast.” The goal of my work is to use these elements to create a visually stimulating image. Through the use of different textures of paint and embroidery, I am able to manipulate how light interacts with my art and how mixing the contrasting hard and soft textures create harmony in my art. I enjoy using the contrasting styles of impressionism and illustrative outline-based art to bring forth the subject of my work while being aesthetically pleasing on the eye. I draw inspiration from nature around me and places I’ve traveled by sourcing the imagery I paint from my own photography. Then I hand-embroider bits and pieces that I want to highlight for the amount of contrast I desire. I want to engage the eye of the viewer so they can almost touch the softness of the embroidery and stiffness of the paint on the surface of the canvas.

No matter the medium, art allows the viewer to be transported into a different time, place, or into the artist’s imagination. Ever since I could pick up a crayon, I’ve been creating art whether it be for school or to design characters and objects for the stories I created using my imagination. As I got older, my imagination grew with me as well as the collection of images I gathered from different experiences while traveling abroad and everyday life. Throughout my travels, which countries include Romania, France, and Iceland, I’ve been able to incorporate ideas from their cultures and my surroundings into my art and design. Although I studied art for my bachelor’s degree, I taught myself how to paint and embroider for my final art class and showed that painting in my senior exhibition. Later in 2013, I participated in my first professional art show, "Around the Square", and won the Popular Vote Award. Since then, I've participated in several art shows and continue to be inspired to paint and embroider by the world around us.