LAURIE J. KALB

abstract and contemporary oil.mixed media.cold wax.acrylic.watercolor.alcohol inks
 
 

Artist Statement

Laurie has lived in Morristown for the past 19 years with her husband and their combined 4 children, now grown.  Her artistic family, mother sculptor, son photographer, brother-in-law, abstract painter, inspires her to continue to grow and expand in art expression.  Travel, the outdoors and the human form have inspired her to abstractly express moments in time in a variety of mediums. Always loving to create, using color and shape, she has been an artist for her whole life. Developing as an exhibiting artist has been evolving for the past decade, as time permits her to expand creatively.  Her professional career of the past 30 years as a pediatric occupational therapist, where she is founder of Pediatric Potentials in Livingston.  This field provides a close relationship to art and soul and allows her to be a mentor and leader; bringing creativity to the children she treats.

As her family has grown, her art world is now a special part of her daily life.  Whether it is viewing work, painting in her home studio, traveling to workshops and art events, art has a huge place in her life.  Her work presently focuses on oil stick and oil, pastel, encaustic, acrylic and mixed media. She finds this creative part of daily life engrossing, messy, enriching and so rewarding.  Sometimes, with abstraction comes a feeling of “not knowing where that came from!” but her work evokes a reaction or emotion that seems to involve others with her choice of color, layering of color and line and shape.


Laurie is influenced by the use of color and the wonder of expression of Wolf Kahn, Richard Diebenkorn, Jasper Johns, Henri Matisse, Gary Komarin, and local artists Dannielle Mick, Lisa Pressman and Julie Friedman, where abstraction of landscape and life is explored.  She has studied with many painters and encaustic artists, and continues to mentor and study with a variety of artists in their mediums.


Expressing a moment and thought through line and color is fun, intense, and quite wonderful.  When a viewer is attracted to her work it provides a shared moment of understanding and connection.  She loves the process of creating and cherishes both the accidental and deliberate manipulation of the eye and emotion when a work is complete. The looking forward and reflection that a piece of artwork provides is a tangible exploration of this life's journey. Her pursuit of art allows her to follow an internal lead, unconsciously expressing texture and dimension, present and past.