Laurie Blessen
Artist based in San Francisco, CA
ABOUT
Laurie Blessen works and lives in San Francisco, California. She received her BA in graphic Design at California College of Arts. She then established her own firm Blessen Design. For 15 years she created and provided marketing materials for corporate clients. This segued into a love of design, specifically furniture design where Laurie worked with top interior designers to develop pieces for clients that weren’t in the marketplace. Simultaneously she began to formulate ways to pursue her painting. Though Laurie has always been involved in creative pursuits, painting has always been her first love. These last eight years have been a testament to that love where Laurie has fully engaged in developing a unique painterly process using a monotype printing technique. She has studied with the best printmakers including renowned Crown Press and now owns her own press to better tell her color driven ever changing stories. Laurie is a member of California Society of Printmakers. She has been well received one woman shows. Her work has been shown nationally and was recently published in a book titled Artists of the Bay Area.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I look to color for my words. In the abstract, I am a storyteller. I work with color to lay the narrative, to set the tone, then draw lines to enunciate and carry this tone. As an artist, my goal is to tell a story, to create and convey emotion. I do this by manipulating and cohering layer upon layer of intense translucent color to express the complexities of what it means to be human. At times my work is playful, light; other times it is messy, raw. It might kindle the imagination, or it might calm the soul. For me, working in abstraction allows and empowers the fullest expression of life.
Website: https://www.laurieblessen.com/
Instagram: @laurieblessen