I create paintings that blend realism with abstraction, using multiple layers of materials to build a visual history on the surface. These layers—often incorporating text, elements of nature, and abstract forms—interact with or disrupt the human figure. This layering process reflects the fragmented and incomplete ways we perceive one another.
For me, the act of painting is an opportunity to explore the humanity of each figure or the history of each object I see. I often focus on a solitary figure, rather than a group, allowing the individual to engage with me as the artist and, later, with the viewer. The process of making and viewing the work becomes a shared experience, as if existing together in an alternate reality. My paintings are investigations into the act of being with others—seeing one another, understanding ourselves through the lens of others, and recognizing that our perceptions of each other are always partial.
— Laura Raborn
Childhood Escape
2017 & 2020
Oil on canvas
36 x 24"