In artist Laura Brenton’s home studio, tucked along the edge of Boulder’s foothills, abstract paintings large and small greet all who enter with vivid color and lively shapes. Some are finished works, hung on the wall for contemplation in their final form. Others, resting against large swaths of plastic protecting the walls and floors, are works in progress. They’re all explorations—of color, shape, and sometimes, even movement and sound.
Before she was a painter, Laura was first a dancer. On a whim, she attended a painting class with her mother-in-law and quickly took to painting colorful landscapes. “I loved the color, and it’s so fun learning something new,” she recalls. Quickly, though, her curiosity found its way to the abstract: “I started wondering, ‘Why does it have to be a landscape?’”
Today, much of her work is about movement, explored in colorful abstractions. “When somebody says, ‘What’s your inspiration?’ what that question really feels like is, ‘How do you return to yourself?’” she says. “To me, it’s movement. It’s slowing down and looking at things sideways.”
In fact, to achieve this connection to motion, she often starts her works with her eyes closed, allowing movement to dictate the initial marks. “It’s kind of like my signature or my graffiti tag,” she laughs. From there, she works with a mix of water-soluble markers and acrylic paints in various layers, sometimes adding, sometimes subtracting. “I’m always looking for what’s unpredictable, and the only way to find that is just to keep going and see what catches your eye,” she says.
Another wealth of inspiration is collaboration, Laura explains. She often partners with other creatives, particularly musicians, to tap into a special kind of creativity. She’s worked with a violinist, a cellist, and even a fellow dancer; they improvise, and she paints. “When it’s somebody else who’s there collaborating, it’s a whole different feel for me,” Laura says.
Her interest lies in not just dropping into a more contemplative, creative mindset herself, but bringing others along with her: “I feel that people, even if they’re not doing the painting themselves, they can find creativity in looking at abstract,” she explains. “If you can really look without judgment — just look — you start finding out that, ‘Oh, I like that texture.’ Or, ‘I like that little blue in there.’ Or, ‘My eye is moving over here.’ I think that abstract art gives people the opportunity to move into the creative brain.”
Now, collaboration takes yet another form for Laura, who is a member of the Boulder Contemporary Group. This summer, her work alongside several other members’ will be on display at The Bus Stop Gallery in June and the Rembrandt Yard in the fall. Laura will also show her work in solo exhibits at Denver’s D’art Gallery and Adorn Design this summer.
And for the creatively curious, you can participate in a workshop fusing movement and creativity hosted by Laura this fall. (For more information, contact Laura directly at Laura@LauraBrentonArt.com.) “Everybody needs a time to dream,” Laura says, inviting all to join. “Because ultimately, I believe that art can change our perspective.”