Laura Parker Surrey, United Kingdom
I am a self-taught artist with a background in History of Art. Inspired by the natural world, particularly the flow of water, my love of colour brings vitality to my artworks, where acrylic paint often combines with collage and expressive pencil marks. Experimenting and taking risks are part of the painting process that thrills me, as I try to communicate my visual and emotional experiences.
I am a self-taught, London-based artist and a member of ArtCan.
Art is a strand of my life that has developed as I’ve grown older. For many years, art was something I loved and studied, gaining a degree in History of Art & Architecture at 45, but it had never occurred to me to create my own work.
At fifty, I began painting the human figure, landscapes, and colourful still lifes. I used my scuba-diving experiences to depict the underwater world, producing unusual images of marine life and rusting wrecks. I really enjoy exploring different ways of depicting the world around me, challenging myself and pushing myself towards greater experimentation, but always the natural world has been a stimulus and inspiration, in particular the flow and movement of water.
Over time my work has shifted from representational paintings to expressive abstracts, but my goal remains the same: to make art from the deepest, most authentic parts of myself.
Currently I find greater self-expression in working abstractly. Experimenting and taking risks are part of the process of painting that thrills me, and where I can discover surprising, unexpected imagery as I try to communicate my visual, emotional, and sensory experiences. I delve into uncharted territory with each piece, and figure it out as I go.
Layering paint with pencil, pen, ink and collage, I enjoy exploring what can be revealed or concealed in a piece, creating a ‘conversation’ within an artwork between calm and flux, clarity and mystery, vibrant colour and subtle neutrals. I am particularly inspired by the poetry of Samuel Menashe: "At every instant I expect / what is hidden everywhere".
For me, making art is exciting, scary, frustrating, addictive and rewarding, and an utterly indispensable part of my life.
I exhibit regularly in group shows in London and elsewhere in the UK. I had my first solo show in London in 2026, a retrospective spanning my 25 year art career, from early works through to my most recent series of abstracts. I have been the subject of various articles, including in Estila and Art Seen magazines, while Diver Magazine (DiverNet) and Collect Art’s Special Edition ‘Sea in Me’ featured my art practice and underwater paintings. My paintings are in private collections worldwide.
Artwork
Bossa Nova in the Breeze, Acrylic, charcoal, pencil & collage, 2026
The Other Side of Silence 3, Acrylic, India ink & collage, 2026, £360
Dance of Possibilities 3, Acrylic, oil stick, pencil & collage, 2026, £360
Field Notes 3, Acrylic, pencil, pen, ink & collage, 2026, £360
HIdden Depths 2, Acrylic, pencil, pen, ink & collage, 2026, £360
Vanilla Rhythms, Acrylic, pencil, pen, crayon, ink & collage, 2025, £360
Cut and Thrust, Acrylic, pencil, pen, crayon, ink & collage, 2025, £360
Hang in There, Acrylic, pencil, pen, crayon, ink & collage, 2025, £360
Tale of Shadows, Acrylic, pencil, pen, crayon, ink & collage, 2025, £360
Beachcombing Blues, Acrylic, pencil, pen, crayon, ink & collage, 2025, £360
Autumn's Lace, Acrylic & pencil, 2024, £360
Phoenix Flames, Acrylic & pencil, 2024, £360
Light Instills Itself In Strands, Acrylic and pencil, 2024, £500
Now Spring Has Come, No One Knows How, Acrylic and pencil, 2024, £500
Where Blue Now Ripples Through, Acrylic & pencil, 2024, £500
All The Visible Not Seen, Acrylic and pencil on cradled wood panel, 2024, £460
Afterglow, Acrylic, 2019, £600
Heatwave (Triptych), Acrylic, 2019, £1270
Icemelt (Triptych), Acrylic, 2019, £1270
Wildfire (Triptych), Acrylic, 2019, £1270
Canyon, Acrylic, 2020
Cascade, Acrylic, 2020
Badlands, Acrylic, 2020, £760
Wrecked, Acrylic, 2020, £760
Projects and exhibitions
| Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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"Mysteries" Solo Show02/10/2026 — 24/10/2026 |
BobCat Gallery, London | Details |
"Splash" with ArtCan04/08/2026 — 15/08/2026 |
Art Movement Gallery, London | Details | |
"Fresh Art Fair" with BobCat Gallery29/01/2026 — 01/02/2026 |
Alexandra Palace, London | Details | |
Winter Showcase with BobCat Gallery & ArtsRichmond16/12/2025 — 20/02/2026 |
Premier House, Twickenahm | Details | |
"The Music of Life"01/08/2025 — 26/08/2025 |
The Horton, Epsom | Details | |
'Stillness' an ArtCan Residency02/05/2025 — 21/06/2025 |
Angel Central, London | Details | |
March Hares05/03/2025 — 30/03/2025 |
One Paved Court, Richmond | Details | |
Winter Show at Orleans House Gallery29/11/2024 — 02/02/2025 |
Stables Gallery, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham | Details | |
"A Celebration of Trees"04/06/2024 — 27/06/2024 |
Cannizaro House, London | Details | |
"The Shape Of Things To Come" with ArtCan21/05/2024 — 25/05/2024 |
Gallery 475, London | Details | |
Ancient Landscapes26/04/2024 — 12/05/2024 |
Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield | Details | |
Orleans House Gallery Winter Show02/12/2023 — 28/01/2024 |
Stables Gallery, Orleans House, Twickenham | Details | |
"Heat"22/08/2023 — 26/08/2023 |
RuptureXIBIT, Hampton Wick | Details | |
"RA Rejects", an Alternative Summer Exhibition27/07/2023 — 03/08/2023 |
Royal Oak Yard, London | Details | |
Orleans House Gallery Winter Show01/12/2022 — 08/01/2023 |
Stables Gallery, Orleans House, Twickenham | Details | |
"Legacy" with ArtCan06/09/2022 — 11/09/2022 |
Crypt Gallery, London | Details | |
"Splash Drip Throw" with Visionary Art Collective29/01/2022 — 26/02/2022 |
Virtual exhibition, New York | Details | |
"Wild & Wonderful" with BobCat Gallery24/01/2022 — 31/01/2022 |
508 Gallery, London | Details | |
ArtCan Residency at Duff & Phelps04/12/2021 — 01/02/2022 |
The Shard, London | Details | |
"Set in Stone" with ArtCan14/11/2021 — 19/09/2021 |
44AD Artspace, Bath | Details | |
Dante 700th01/09/2021 — 30/09/2021 |
Dante Society, London | Details | |
Woolverton Grand Opening and Summer Exhibition01/06/2021 — 31/08/2021 |
Woolverton Art Gallery, Woolverton, Bath | Details | |
"Light It Blue" by W1 Curates, illuminating Central London during Covid19 First Lockdown03/03/2021 — 30/04/2021 |
Flannels Store Facade, 161-167 Oxford Street, London | Details | |
"Island2Island"01/10/2020 — 09/10/2020 |
Velorose Gallery, London | Details | |
“Discovery Sessions”08/08/2019 — 26/09/2026 |
Trinity Art Gallery, London | Details |