Lauren is a part-time artist and a full-time mother with deep roots in Santa Cruz where she was born and raised. She remembers enjoying expressing her creativity from a young age by drawing comic strips, underwater mermaid scenes and Oscar-inspired evening gowns, to name a few.

Her love for painting began in High School and college where she worked in oil, acrylic and watercolor. She decided to major in art history after taking a course at community college and then going to France and Italy to see the paintings she studied in person. She earned her BA in Art History at San Jose State University then jumped right into making a living soon after.

Unfortunately, her painting fell by the wayside for years. It wasn’t until after a particularly difficult time in her life that Lauren became reacquainted with her lost love of painting after being commissioned by her mother to paint a simple picture of a lamb. She’s been painting ever since.

Her medium of choice is gouache. She likes the ease of using it, its opaque quality and the forgiveness it offers. Her favorite subjects currently are animals, however she has painted landscapes, flowers and portraits. Lauren’s other passions include gardening, music, travel, and being in community with others.