Meet Lauren Gray | Photographer & Painter

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

Hi Lauren, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
The most important lesson that I’ve learned from running my business is that fear will hold you back from walking in your purpose.

Society ultimately teaches us that if you pursue a career in art, you’re going to be broke. With that fear of being financially unstable and dependent on others, when I was in undergrad, I chose not to focus on pursuing a career in art but pursued a career in psychology as my main focus instead. I majored in psychology and minored in photography after being “undecided” for 2 years.

I started my photography business while in college and I began painting as an elective for my photography minor. In painting class, we were assigned an abstract painting assignment. During the project critique, I got extreme encouragement to continue painting since I was solely focused on photography as my art medium.

I began painting and still doing photography after college but didn’t take it serious enough because I was so worried about getting a stable income with my psychology degree. I got a job in applied behavior analysis working with children with autism and went to grad school for it to get an even more stable income.

Halfway through grad school, I decided to stop playing myself. I realized after working in ABA for 5 years that I was really just playing myself. If you had asked me what I wanted to do then, my answer was always to stay at home, make art all day, and sell it. I was just afraid to put myself out there. I knew I had this crazy different abstract style of art, honestly didn’t think people would like it, and I was afraid to be that vulnerable with my creations.

However, I started to see that people did like my art after posting on Instagram and I decided that I wanted to find one art show to get my paintings into. I found one and didn’t get in. Another art show ad came up on my Instagram, I applied and got accepted but it was 4 months away. I then went to a local art show, actually spoke to the artists, and one of them gave me so much information that I needed to apply to other art shows. I applied to one more show that was the next week. I got in, sold some of my work, and ended up doing a show every weekend after that. I was amazed (and still am) that people actually liked my art.

All I had to do was one show, and all the rest of them found me after that. Now, I’m getting asked to display my art at different shows and retail stores and people are buying my art across the country. Once I put myself out there, stopped being afraid, and actually put some real work in, everything fell in alignment. I feel like I wasted so much time being fearful which only held me back from growing my business. Once you decide that you can do something, you have the power to make it happen if you can overcome your fear. That’s the most important lesson I’ve learned while on this journey.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a portrait photographer and abstract painter. With my photos, I love interacting with different people and capturing them in beautiful frozen moments of time. My paintings are wild, vibrant, and unique. They are unlike anything you’ve seen before and that’s something that I’m most excited about with my art! I used to think no one would like my art and tried to create what I thought other people would want. Now I’m at a point where I’m creating what I really want to and seeing that people are liking my art more and more.

It has not been an easy route to get here. I have been denied, done events where I’ve sold nothing, and I’m still learning everyday on how to grow my business. I started my art business while working a 9-5 and a full time grad student in a completely different field. I had to decide to really pursue my art business and in less than a year, I have done about 20 art shows, multiple interviews, and have been asked to display my art in clothing boutiques, hair salons, and fashion shows. All I had to do was put myself out there a few times and network. Everything else found me after that.

The most important lesson I’ve learned is that you have to stay hungry. As an entrepreneur, you are the only person that can really stand in the way of the growth of your business. You have to be willing to put yourself out there, try new things, interact with as many people as you can and treat every interaction as valuable, and most importantly stay motivated.

Art by Lauren Gray, Inc. represents true freedom. Freedom of expression and freedom that you can do anything you put your mind to once you decide to really do it.

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.
Some of my favorite restaurants are O’sha, Pasha, Little Trouble, Forza Storico, Tom, Dick, & Hank, and Juci Jerk. Some that I’ve been wanting to try are El Indio, Lily’s, Slush, Apt 4B, and OurBar. Some fun places to check out are local nature preserves for a hike, art walks, MODA, Peter’s Street, and local pop up shops.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
S/O to my Lord and Savior. I am so blessed and humbly grateful for this journey.

Website: Artbylaurengray.com

Instagram: @artbylaurengray