Words by Lotus Abrams
Summer at the beach—it’s a subject that has attracted artists throughout history. From Picasso to Diebenkorn, capturing the joie de vivre of frolicking in azure waves or lying in repose on sun-warmed sand is an irresistible urge. For Laura Hughes, it is a way of connecting with her own precious childhood memories and capturing playful moments experienced by her four children at the seashore.
The figures in Laura’s oil paintings swim, boogie board, sunbathe and read books in brightly colored beach chairs. A scene from Santa Cruz or Carmel, perhaps? Actually, Laura finds her inspiration in the small beach towns along the shores of New Jersey, where she was raised. “Spring Lake is a small shore town, just 3,000 residents, but it’s beautiful and we love it,” she explains, adding that her home is just “steps from the beach.” Faced with a move across the country to Palo Alto, Laura and her husband sought a way to enjoy both locations. The answer was a bicoastal lifestyle in which the family spends nine months in the Bay Area and the summers back on the Jersey Shore.
Cover Painting: Tidepool Treasures / Above Painting: Tangerine Tunic
It might sound frenetic, but it becomes clear how Laura, with her calm and positive demeanor, makes it work. “My husband and I really wanted our children to have the chance to spend summers at the beach and take seasonal jobs, just as we did growing up,” she says. Plus, both of their extended families are there. The peripatetic lifestyle has also suited her ambitions as an artist, opening new doors and opportunities.
Laura’s own childhood was filled with creativity. “There were always art supplies around and my mother was artistic her whole life,” she says. Always drawn to art classes in school, Laura decided to major in English and minor in art at Georgetown University. She was able to spend a semester abroad in Italy for her major—a real priority for her—but “my art classes really lit me up.” After graduating, she set her sights on a job in advertising in New York City. She worked for a small ad agency and smiles as she remembers that it was “super creative and I loved it.”
A major life change, in the form of marriage and the birth of twins, required putting a hold on her artistic endeavors, although she kept taking art classes whenever she could. Two more children meant that life was busier than ever. In 2015, her husband was offered a position at a Palo Alto-based tech firm and, after one year of living apart, they decided to try dividing their time between the Bay Area and East Coast. That same year, with children on the cusp of adulthood, Laura made a decision: “This is my time and I am getting back to my painting.”
She began exploring art galleries and educational opportunities and was soon taking classes at Pacific Art League and the Palo Alto Art Center. “I feel very lucky that there are so many wonderful resources here,” she says of the Peninsula. She became adept at setting up her home studio wherever she could, including in the garage, bedrooms and the foyer of the large home they rent in downtown Palo Alto.
Painting: Be More Pacific
She recently enjoyed a four-month residency at the Cubberly Studios, which was an unexpected opportunity. “I got a call that a space was open and had one hour to decide to take it, and I did,” she laughs. “It was wonderful to be there and meet and share with the other artists.”
Laura’s sunny, colorful beach scenes are not as spontaneous as one might think. Her working method is to pose her subjects (often her children, nieces, nephews and other family members) and then take pictures with her phone. She says that she usually has an idea in advance as to what she wants to portray.
Laura is very clear that these paintings are not meant to be portraits. While the bodies of her figures are carefully arranged, the faces are almost totally lacking in detail.
Painting: Amity
“I want them to look like they could be anyone, which is why they are usually looking away or down or wearing hats,” she explains. “I am not looking for realism. I am trying to find my perfect blend of realism and abstraction.”
Her passion is for light. “I love the way that light hits bodies and structures,” Laura says. The structures that she enjoys painting the most are beach chairs and lifeguard stations. “I have grown up on the beach and the lifeguard stands I paint are those from our little shore towns. Every town has its own style of stands.”
When it’s pointed out that West Coast beaches are pretty fantastic, Laura laughs and agrees. “I love Half Moon Bay!” It is the backdrop for a recent painting of family members who were visiting from the East Coast. “We were excited to show them the Half Moon Bay coastline and tidepools. The afternoon West Coast light was perfect,” she says.
Painting: Ready to Roll
Now that she has time to devote to her art, Laura has begun to tackle the challenge of putting it out into the world. She made a website where she displays examples of both her figurative and architectural paintings, and she has participated in Silicon Valley Open Studios. Like many artists, she also uses Instagram to show her work—although she admits, “I don’t love social media.”
When told that her paintings are bright and cheerful, she is clearly pleased. “I think in most of my paintings, I am trying to capture moments of joy,” she says.
As she packs and prepares for summer in New Jersey in June, Laura is already looking ahead to autumn in California. With her youngest child college-bound, she will have more time to fully devote to her art. “I am hoping to have a more structured, daily practice in the future, with a full work schedule when I can produce more and continue to learn from artists I admire.” Laura smiles, “This is a good turning point for me.”