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.

香蕉视频直播淗e just woke up,香蕉视频直播� 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. It香蕉视频直播檚 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, it香蕉视频直播檚 easy to assume she香蕉视频直播檚 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 香蕉视频直播� studying both at and 香蕉视频直播� but it wasn香蕉视频直播檛 until well after she香蕉视频直播檇 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 member香蕉视频直播檚 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 wasn香蕉视频直播檛 until she did an abstract collage class that everything fell back into place.

香蕉视频直播淚t just clicked,香蕉视频直播� she says. 香蕉视频直播淚 felt like, this is what I香蕉视频直播檓 supposed to be doing.香蕉视频直播�

Then a close friend who was an interior designer commissioned her to do two pieces, and 香蕉视频直播渢hat香蕉视频直播檚 where it all started.香蕉视频直播� She balanced her day job 香蕉视频直播� as a career advisor in the mental health field 香蕉视频直播� with her art, but soon found herself inundated with commissions. Looking at her body of work, it香蕉视频直播檚 not hard to imagine why her pieces were in demand. There香蕉视频直播檚 a fluidity to them that香蕉视频直播檚 incredibly appealing, as is the way she harmonizes colours.

Her website describes her painting as 香蕉视频直播渁bstract works [that] reference organic shapes using complex layers and staining,香蕉视频直播� using a 香蕉视频直播渃ontemporary palette and methodical layering technique.香蕉视频直播�

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.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 very process driven香蕉视频直播� she says. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 very reactionary. It really forces you to let go.香蕉视频直播�

A trio of linen-based works leaning against the studio香蕉视频直播檚 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 it香蕉视频直播檚 riskier. If the process doesn香蕉视频直播檛 yield an end result Lauren香蕉视频直播檚 happy with, there香蕉视频直播檚 no painting over and starting from scratch.

These particular pieces are also much smaller than Lauren香蕉视频直播檚 usual, which is why she香蕉视频直播檚 been working on them.

香蕉视频直播淚 never paint small, so I香蕉视频直播檝e been trying to do as many small pieces as I can,香蕉视频直播� 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 she香蕉视频直播檚 had to redefine how she approaches her studio schedule.

香蕉视频直播淚 really find I香蕉视频直播檓 a lot more efficient with my time since I had him,香蕉视频直播� says Lauren, who makes time in the evenings to work, and has someone come once a week for child minding. 香蕉视频直播淚 love my time with him, and I love being in my studio.香蕉视频直播�

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 she香蕉视频直播檚 found a balance point between it all.

香蕉视频直播淚 think if someone had asked me 10 years ago what I wanted my life to be, I香蕉视频直播檇 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,香蕉视频直播� she says.

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

香蕉视频直播淚f you香蕉视频直播檙e a creative person, you probably have an unkind voice in your head,香蕉视频直播� she says with a laugh. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 hard when someone doesn香蕉视频直播檛 like a painting, but it香蕉视频直播檚 harder when I don香蕉视频直播檛. I just remind myself it香蕉视频直播檚 a process. It香蕉视频直播檚 being ok with the piece when it takes a different direction.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檝e learned a lot about myself through painting abstractly,香蕉视频直播� she adds: about her ability to let go of the end result, about the need to control the critic that香蕉视频直播檚 within all of us, of wanting things to look a particular way.

香蕉视频直播淎lthough it香蕉视频直播檚 my passion, painting has not always been an easy path for me; there香蕉视频直播檚 nothing that gives me as much anxiety and pure joy at the same time.香蕉视频直播�

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- Story by Angela Cowan

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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