Lauren Forcella

Lauren Forcella is an award-winning contemporary impressionist and professional artist with 30 years experience. She works 'alla prima' with classic oils and brushes using generous impasto texture and bold color. Alla prima, or premier coup (meaning "at first pass"), is a painting style whereby the paint is placed where one intends it to stay. There is no letting it dry and reworking. This style is fresh and immediate and perfect for capturing emotional intensity. Forcella's work has been compared to Tom Thomson of the Group of Seven, and of course Van Gogh, who she credits as her favorite artist and biggest influence. Of the studio snapshot she says, "I prefer to be camera shy and a collector snapped this picture of me anyway—but I love the piece in progress, so here you go!"

Forcella studied and took refuge in nature starting as a young child, growing up near the remote Trinity Alps Wilderness in Northern California. She spent a very unusual childhood writing, drawing, and living mostly outdoors. To give back, she put herself through college earning a B.S. in Geology from Oregon State University and spent her 20's as a hydrogeologist roaming the backcountry of Oregon. Later she retooled with a M.A. in Consciousness Studies from JFK University. Forcella says, "My early life was unconventional and I did not pick up a paintbrush until age 40, when shockingly, I already knew how to paint. Call it latent talent, or "sudden onset", but I knew at that moment, this was my life purpose. What you see in my portfolio I have honed on the canvas and through continued engagement with nature, my steadfast muse."