Photographer: Belinda Russell
When Lauren Dusing was growing up in Fishers, she was always busy making jewelry, constructing origami or painting watercolors. Although she loved creating art, it never occurred to her that someday her occupation would be selling her works to the public. After graduating from Indiana University and working as an interior designer for several years, she began to realize that her dream of being a professional artist might become a reality.
“I love the Pablo Picasso’s quote, ‘Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up,’ because it is so true,” she says. “I was so inspired by other artists I saw on Instagram making a successful living as an artist, that I finally thought it could be possible.”
Dusing began selling to commissioned clients in 2015. By 2017, she was populating her own Instagram feed with images of her watercolors landscapes, acrylic florals and mixed media abstract paintings and her sales began to increase. In July of 2018, she was paired with interior design shop Shine Design Home during the Fishers Art Crawl. Her display caught the eye of Jill Lehman, owner of High Frequency Arts, who arranged for Dusing’s art to be exhibited at the studio early this year. Recently, she left her full-time job at an interior design firm and began working as an assistant to a local lifestyle blogger. She now has the flexibility to devote more time to producing her art.
“Since my studio is a small spare bedroom, I typically do not work very large, although I do from time to time,” Dusing says. “My smaller and medium paintings range anywhere from $75 to $300. I also create custom commissioned paintings for clients looking for certain colors or sizes. I can consult with them and come up with a color scheme to figure out what fits with their interior style. It helps to have a background in interior design.”
These days, people from all over the world can view and purchase museum quality prints of Dusing’s work at ArtfullyWalls.com. She applied to be one of their featured artists and was accepted in September 2018. It is an online retail store which has been highlighted in multiple publications both in the United States and abroad and offers patrons affordable artwork for hanging on walls. A large portion of her paintings shown on the site are abstracts.
“I was always a lover of abstract art, and I finally decided to explore it about 18 months ago,” she says. “It is so much harder than people think. I think I love abstracts so much because you are able to focus and enjoy more of the process instead of thinking about the end result. I’ve had to learn to put the fear aside and get into the flow. That is when I enjoy the process most and I think my enjoyment and happiness shows through in my finished paintings.”
In the future, Dusing hopes to expand into other avenues that go beyond art that hangs on walls. She is exploring the possibility of developing textiles for fashion. However, she is also interested in sharing the joy of creating art with others.
“I’d like to somehow educate or teach others to bring creativity and art into their life because the benefits are so immense,” she says. “I’d especially love to someday give back by working with children to keep that creative spark alive in them so they never lose it.”
View Dusing’s art via her Instagram handle @laurendusing and online at ArtfullyWalls.com or LaurenDusing.com.
