laurie baars biography

Laurie Baars is a contemporary abstract painter based in Seattle, Washington. 

Her richly layered, luminous paintings, evoking a sense of spaciousness, are a reflection of her search for peace and calm in a noisy world. Her work is an invitation to pause, breathe, and return to the ever-present inner stillness that resides within. 

Largely self-taught, she has degrees in both business and fiber arts and has studied with many nationally and internationally known artists. After a long career as a marketing consultant and part-time artist, she has been focused full-time on painting since 2022. 

Her work has been accepted into juried group exhibitions in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle and is held in private collections throughout the USA and abroad. 

Artist Statement 
My life is a balancing act between a love of adventure and a need for tranquility, and my practice is driven by these two polarities. 
Each painting begins with gestural mark-making and spontaneous applications of paint, usually in a limited color palette. I respond to my materials intuitively, slowly building up layers, never knowing what the end result will be. 
My background in fiber arts and pattern design informs my approach, particularly through collage and layered mark-making. Collage elements created on salvaged book pages and Japanese rice paper are often integrated throughout—sometimes buried in the under layers, partially revealed, or as a key compositional element.
Most of my paintings evoke a sense of spaciousness and light, probably because I’m always looking for more of each in my life. I like to think of my work as that liminal point between sleep and wakefulness—not quite here, not quite there. A peaceful, hopeful threshold to something exciting and new.
Ultimately, I hope my work offers an invitation for the viewer to pause and recalibrate—a moment to breathe and begin again.