Invasion of the Peonies Collage

I have a background in Art Therapy, Art History, and Studio Art. My analyses of my artworks on here are mostly afterthought, as I primarily work in a more intuitive fashion. Having grown up in New York City, with city life feeling so hectic and artificial to me, I've always craved the spontaneous harmonies of nature. Family trips to the Caribbean stimulated this longing and influenced the kind of imagery I was to use, i.e., often of an aquatic, colorful, and exotic nature. My work in the art therapy field gave me an understanding of the crucial role projection plays in both the making and viewing of a work of art. This realization stimulated me to work in a stream-of-consciousness way, enhancing the hazy, often amorphous dream-like feel of my work so as to give full reign to the subconscious and encourage projection in the viewer. Viewers do often project their thoughts onto my pieces; I expect the fluidity of the imagery to invite this sort of reaction. When I moved to the Philadelphia suburbs in the mid-nineties, I now realize I must have absorbed the colorist tradition of this region, becoming even more immersed in the expressive potential of color than I was to begin with. I also began to find inspiration in the ideas and work of abstract expressionists like Kandinsky. His book "Concerning the Spiritual in Art" particularly affected me with its emphasis on re-invigorating the modern psyche through a use of vibrant colors, shapes, and rhythmic compositions. When I saw Hilma af Klint's retrospective at the Guggenheim in 2018, I felt a deep kinship with her. Other influences include Fauvism, with its bold colors and Surrealism, with its dreamlike qualities. Related to my interest in projection is my recent focus on the visual aspects of the digital age. Some of my latest paintings are explorations of the visual and psychological effects of pixelated images. I can be contacted at and you can get updates on exhibitions on my Instagram account with name Laura Joan Levine.