If you have followed my work for a while, you’ll know that painting isn’t where my creative business began.

In 2018 I launched my first venture as a surface pattern designer, creating designs for fabric. I loved seeing my designs on a variety of homeware products in people’s homes.

During Covid, my business took a different direction. Working alongside a creative friend, I began selling sewing kits featuring my fabric designs. The kits were well received and I built a wonderful community of customers who supported my work throughout that chapter. I’m incredibly grateful for that time and for the people I met throught it.

Yet despite the success of the subscription box, I felt a disconnect - there was something missing.

When my friend decided she no longer wanted to design the sewing projects for the kits, it felt like a natural point to pause. What I thought would be a short break gradually became something more permanent. There was sadness in that decision, but also relief. For the first time in a long time, I felt able to explore the thing that had been waiting patiently in the background.

The truth is that I didn’t return to painting because I wanted an art business. I returned because I needed it.

After a particularly stressful period in my life, painting became a source of calm. It slowed my thoughts and gave me space to breathe. Hours would pass unnoticed in the studio and, for the first time in a long while, I felt completely absorbed in what I was doing. It wasn’t long before I realised that painting wasn’t simply helping me through a difficult time - it was the thing that made me the happiest.

Of course, recognising that and acting on it are two very different things.

Fear has a way of convincing us to stay where things feel familiar. The fear of failure has followed me through every creative chapter, and painting was no exception. Sharing work that feels personal can be daunting, especially when you’re stepping into something new.

Last November, I quietly tested the waters with a small series of paintings sold through instagram. It wasn’t a formal launch, just a gentle first step. The response gave me confidence, but more importantly confirmed what I already knew: this was the work I wanted to be making.

This year my word is brave. Not because the fear has disappeared, but because I’ve realised that waiting for certainty isn’t the answer. Sometimes you simply have to take the next step and trust that the path will reveal itself as you go.

Where Colour Settles is my first proper collection launch through my website, and it feels like the beginning of a new chapter. At the same time, it doesn’t feel entirely new. When I look back, I can see a thread running through everything I’ve created over the years - a love of colour, texture and creating work that brings a sense of calm.

The difference now is that the paintings come first.

While I may explore fabric, wallpaper and other products again in the future, I want those things to grow from the paintings rather that the other way around. The paintings are the starting point. They are where the ideas begin.

I’m still at the beginning of this journay and finding the people who connect with the work feels like the next challenge. But for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m building from a place that feels completely aligned with who I am and what I want to create.

And that feels worth being brave for.

Laura x

You can view the paintings from Where Colour Settles here

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