Meet Lauren Gotvald | Artist and Explorer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Gotvald and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I have loved to go to galleries and art markets since I was a little girl. I loved to hear the stories of the older artists and I was inspired by their creative drive. I went to college when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the world turned upside down. I watched with jealousy as others made an income from their creative revenue streams from the comfort of their home. My intense burnout led me to travel the world in the following years. I went to countless beautiful shops and art museums throughout Europe. The jealousy continued as I saw others live what I thought would be the dream life and I always thought “one day”. Eventually it hit me that these people in galleries and museums did not end up their by accident. Successful artists dedicated time and took chances to get their art seen. I realized I would never be “discovered” if I did not put in the effort to actually make work and that many of these artists were not inherently talented, but were extremely dedicated. I looked around and thought, “if they could successfully sell their art to strangers then why not me?”. I chose to pursue being an artist because I wanted to contribute to making the world a more beautiful and meaningful place like that artists that came before me. I believe art fosters human connection and if I there is a possibility I could support myself with it then I am certainly going to try.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art would best be described as colorful, textural, and nature inspired. As our modern culture has geared towards grey minimalist interiors, I have been on a personal mission to bring as much color to the world as possible. I feel most like a real human being when life is messy and fully saturated. I do not consider myself a very high brow artist. I like to keep it silly and make things that I simply like to look at.

I adore traveling and spending time outside and those joys are reflected in my work. I have lived and worked in three different national parks in my early twenties which has inspired me beyond measure. I love trying to capture the indescribable beauty of a wildflower and and the simple pleasure of a sunset over the mountains. I am most proud of my Garden of the Gods painting as every time I stare at an empty canvas I feel completely overwhelmed and convince myself I don’t know how to paint. That was the first painting I finished and decided maybe I wasn’t so bad after all.

I am very early on in my artist journey and I am sure my priorities will evolve greatly. In this current moment the things I am most excited about is adding tote bags to my inventory. I love a good tote bag because they are sustainable and a purchase my collectors can hold on to for years. I love the idea of my art accompanying the wearer to their summer farmer’s market trips.

I have learned (most days) to not overthink every little design choice. When I was studying graphic design and studio art during college, I got completely burned out and overwhelmed by my anxiety. Art “rules” and rubrics and critiques and general pandemic burnout led to me beginning to hate art and question everything I presented to the world. After I graduated, I completely stopped making art for years. When I started to come back to it, I started just creating for fun and experimenting like a child. I began to toy around with the idea of opening an Etsy but I put it off for months because I couldn’t do it perfectly. I wanted to perfect name, packaging, logo, business knowledge, etc. I realized if I waited for perfection it would never happen so I just went for it one day.

In general I have literally no idea what I am doing but I try a little every day. Choosing to have a habit of creating art means even 10 minutes of work each day can add up to a lot of progress over the years. I am also being really intentional about not pushing myself so much to be “successful” that I resent art like I had previously. A life of pressure and perfection is not a life I am interested in.

Through Shades of Lauren, I simply hope to foster connection to nature and each other. My general philosophy is to do whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt other people or the planet. If my silly little sticker making some random stranger in Nebraska laugh is my biggest legacy then that is a successful life to me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am based in Colorado Springs so I would stick to this area as I do not love driving.

I am a big pastry girl so starting with breakfast I would head to Provision Bakery or La Concha Bakery.

For lunch/dinner recommendations I would go to the Burrowing Owl for vegan food and really cool vintage signs. I also love Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub for comfort food and a great beer menu. While you’re downtown I would stop at Mary’s Mountain Cookies to get a lemon doodle for a sweet treat.

Everyone will be going to Garden of the Gods but my favorite hiking area is North Cheyenne Canyon by far. It is minutes from downtown but it feels like you’re far from the city once you get hiking.

If you’re up for a challenge, the Manitou Incline is definitely a bucket list item that hikers should try.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to all of the artists that sell at Eclectic Co. in Colorado Springs! This was the first store I was accepted to sell my art at in person. The ability to sell here has risen my confidence as an artist so much. The community there is full of talented artists that are very helpful and inspiring. It would definitely be my top recommendation to stop in at if you are looking to support an artist in the area.

Website: https://laurengotvald.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_shadesoflauren/