The Self Portrait of Lauren Alexander

This week's featured artist is Lauren Alexander of Overland Park, KS. Lauren's Etsy shop has been open since May 2006.

Walk You Home - original ACEO

Lauren says, "I am a watercolor painter and I have always been one even as a little kid with a box of Prang watercolors. I just love the way water makes the colors come alive. The first painting I ever sold was a large watercolor portrait to my high school library."

Sweet Tree

Pick one item you have created and provide link either from your shop or flickr. What inspired the “birth” of this item?

I painted this picture of a tree with hearts a little over a year ago. I was just beginning to find my voice with my work and needed a piece in my collection that would really say what I’m about. This painting came from my head – I remember just deciding to put all the different colors together in each heart and fruit…adding all the little details and specks of color within it. It felt right to me and from then on I have kept a little bit of Sweet Tree in almost everything I paint.

Does this item have any personal significance to you?

This image is symbolic to me. Hearts have always been special– a symbol of love of course but also a reminder of heart disease – something that has touched me and my family very closely in the last couple years. I see hearts as a reminder to love one another along with one’s self. Take care of your hearts!

What is your favorite part of the process of creating your item?

I remember painting in all the bright colors and just knowing that it was going to be a winner! I remember having it out on my work desk and just going back to it throughout the evening to look at it.

Please briefly describe a workday in your “studio” and how you created this item.

My “studio” is my dining room table, adjacent to my living room. I paint there in the evenings when I come home from my day job (working with special needs students and teaching art). I generally like to sketch right on my watercolor paper. I like to dive right in. I usually watch tv or listen to music while I paint. Sometimes I cook dinner at the same time!

Lauren Alexander Magnets - Set of 10

If this item is part of a special line that you do, has there been an evolution in your process? For example, if we were to compare the first one you made to this one, what differences would there be, if any?

This item sparked a whole new trend for me of painting trees in a sort of colorful, whimsical way. I have since started putting creatures in the tress, birds, owls, and such. I enjoy creating environments and little creatures to inhabit them. I love to play with color and try new combinations. I love finding new ways to make people wonder how I did that with watercolor. It is exciting and keeps me going and going.

Visit Lauren Alexander's shop on Etsy to see more of her colorful work!