Artist Statement

 

My journey to painting started in 2020 during Covid. On a cross-country trip with my mother on our way to visit my siblings and young nephews, I looked up at a gorgeous open sky with clouds pink and purple, the sky with a soft, almost green warmth as the sun started to set. Out of the blue, my mind gave me a rather unusual thought, "I wish I could paint that." I had never seen myself as a creative, hadn't loved to draw as a child or anything of the sort. So, you could imagine that this thought caught me quite off guard. Over the next couple of weeks, I couldn't quite get that thought that I really wanted to paint something out of my mind. Hesitantly, I decided to go for it. After some brief online research, I bought a single canvas and tiny set of oil paints, some cheap brushes, and set up a spot in my bedroom and tried to paint a scene from a backpacking trip years ago. And so began my journey. I threw myself into learning the fundamentals of representational art-making, pouring over books for hours at a time, scouring the internet for information, and making a lot of bad art. As they say, you can't be afraid to make bad art.

The rest is history. Finding art and a creative process has changed me at my core.

While I have explored a lot of different subject matter the last few years, right now I am very taken with exploring interiors, figures and portraits. I find interiors incredibly compelling and my desire to capture them feels like gravity. 

In all of my work, I hope to capture the feeling of light that generates a mood and emotion in any given subject. I remain curious where my art practice will take me in the years to come. I'm happy you're here with me on this journey as it evolves because I am sure that it will. I hope that you stick around and just maybe try something new yourself. You might just find something that brings you new life as well.

 

 

Laura Haberer is a self-taught artist inspired by post-impressionism. Laura is a member of Oil Painters of America and the Palette and Chisel Fine Art Academy in Chicago. She lives with her husband, Kyle, and rescue pup, Evie.