Laura Moss

Laura Moss was born in California and currently lives and works in Pasadena, CA.

As a child she would take a sketchbook and pencils with her everywhere – always ready to capture an interesting face or pose onto paper.

Though she has been interested in art from a young age she continues to take classes at the local college as part of her quest for personal growth. and is continually exploring new concepts and techniques.

She likes to challenge herself by experimenting with new approaches and by trying new materials in an effort to impart a fresh, unique look to a traditional realistic interpretation. In doing so, she embraces many contemporary concepts in portraiture and still-life, even though the starting point is to “paint what I see.”

A portraitist must infuse the work with her own vision. Laura prefers to work with a sitting subject, a person with whom she can connect, even briefly, in order to feel the inner personality. However, even when working from a two-dimensional photograph she looks for depth and detail- “I try to capture the minute features and the flesh tones. The key to capturing a subject’s likeness is to get the bone structure beneath the skin and, above all, to get the eyes right. The eyes reflect the soul of the person within. A portraitist, who not only “looks” at the subject, but also “sees” him/her, can see more detail than is captured by the camera. My work is a synthesis of classical realism and freedom of brushwork.”

Laura likes to work in charcoal, pastels and in oil. She begins by outlining the subject’s face and then by building up layers of tones and detail – always in touch with a realistic, natural approach to the subject at hand.

Pastels are a dry form of pure pigment. They are mixed with a binder to retain the integrity of the color. Stick and pencil pastels are of the same high quality materials that constitute oil paints and watercolors but without liquid additives. Therefore, finished artworks in pastel can maintain the same vibrancy of color for hundreds of years.

“Drawing is the honesty of art. To draw does not mean simply to reproduce contours: drawing does not consist merely of line. Drawing is also expression of the inner form, of each plane and modeling. What you see is what remains after that. Drawing is the foundation of every painting; it is three quarters of the content of the painting.”
Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)

Laura accepts commissions for portraits.

* None of the artworks may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of the Artist