Lauren Woods, local artist, is a stay-at-home mom who has found a business in art and, through painting, aims to bring life into people’s homes.
Woods lived in Auburn with her husband, Casey Woods, and has since moved to Birmingham, Alabama. She said her art is a side business as well as a creative outlet.
“I would always just paint for friends and didn’t ever think about doing it professionally, but the fact that it’s been able to do that has been a really big blessing,” Woods said.
Her love for art started when she would paint with her grandmother.
“Growing up, she always painted, and so when I would go spend time with her at her house, we would do different kinds of painting together,” Woods said. “She taught me watercolor and acrylic. We would even paint ceramic Santas around Christmas time.”
Today, she does commission work for paintings in people’s homes. Woods said she enjoys being able to see the space the artwork will be in and infuses the inspiration of the room, her style and the client’s ideas together.
“It’s also fun to create or use that as a challenge when you know what that space is and make something special that is specific to
their actual home,” she said.
Sometimes, she will paint just for herself and her own enjoyment, Woods said. She likes to experiment with new ideas to keep her mind fresh to see what she might like to add to her other pieces in the future.
However, she does have a general style, she said. She likes using soft colors and a lot of texture in her artwork. She said the texture and layering of paint add dimension to the piece.
“When you have different colors and different mediums in your art, you can kind of have them come out at different times of the day, or different lighting will portray different things that give a lot of character to the painting,” Woods said.
She also does paintings that feature Auburn football. Since her husband is a coach, he helps her break down a play to then transform into a painting.
“That idea is really special to me because it incorporates both my husband and I working together on something and our love for that,” Woods said.
She said originally, she was painting it for her own home, but other coaches liked the artwork idea. It grew from there.
She said a lot of her and her family’s time is spent with football, and she wanted to integrate that into art.
The football paintings are about capturing a moment and capturing a memory from a game, Woods said.
She said she is appreciative to those who enjoy her paintings and those who give her the opportunity to create and sell her artwork.
“To me, it’s just special to have anyone appreciate your art,” Woods said. “I think putting stuff out there, you kind of feel vulnerable sometimes.”
Today, Woods is one of the artists in J&M’s bookstore downtown, and more of her artwork can be viewed on her Instagram or website under Lauren Thompson Woods art. tion of the room, her style and the client’s ideas together.
“It’s also fun to create or use that as a challenge when you know what that space is and make something special that is specific to their actual home,” she said.
Sometimes, she will paint just for herself and her own enjoyment, Woods said. She likes to experiment with new ideas to keep her mind fresh to see what she might like to add to her other pieces in the future.
However, she does have a general style, she said. She likes using soft colors and a lot of texture in her artwork. She said the texture and layering of paint add dimension to the piece.
“When you have different colors and different mediums in your art you can kind of, have them come out at different times of the day or different lighting will portray different things that give a lot of character to the painting,” Woods said.
She also does paintings that feature Auburn football. Since her husband is a coach, he helps her break down a play to then transform into a painting.
“That idea is really special to me because it incorporates both my husband and I working together on something and our love for that,” Woods said.
She said, originally, she was painting it for her own home, but other coaches liked the artwork idea. It grew from there.
She said a lot of her and her family’s time is spent with football and she wanted to integrate that into art.
The football paintings are about capturing a moment and capturing a memory from a game, Woods said.
She said she is appreciative to those who enjoy her paintings and those who give her the opportunity to create and sell her artwork.
“To me, it’s just special to have anyone appreciate your art,” Woods said. “I think putting stuff out there you kind of feel vulnerable sometimes.”
Today, Woods is one of the artists in J&M’s bookstore downtown, and more of her artwork can be viewed on her Instagram or website under Lauren Thompson Woods art.
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Abigail Murphy, senior in journalism with minors in history and women and gender studies, is the operations managing editor at The Auburn Plainsman.
