Laura Waller

BIOGRAPHY

My work as a studio painter is focused on capturing the ordinary and the common place which often escapes the eye - unnoticed or underappreciated. Coming from a working-class family, I am interested in the everyday work environment and architectural elements I find there, which range from vessels in shipyards and ports, equipment and buildings at an industrial site, and urban scenes involving cranes and skyscrapers. 

 

In addition, subject matter for my paintings ranges from the massive to the miniscule and is found close to home or during my travels. I find power in unusual perspectives and angles that might stir the viewer’s sense of order. I see beauty in time-worn surfaces of a ship, an historic landmark or even a person showing evidence of age or individual life struggles, all which speak to universal issues of time and place. 

 

My use of color plays a key role. I am interested in how natural light in the northeast differs from Florida’s sunlight and how shapes and colors are perceived. Because I am interested in referencing but not representing reality, the work often edges toward abstraction.