My Handmade Specialties Original Paintings on Canvas Custom Commissions Digital Art /Graphic Design Art Jewelry Images Fine Art Prints My Story My interest in art began as a child. I was born with a love for animals and a passion for painting. Having come from a broken home and having a lot of free time at a young age, I developed my very own art skills through experimenting with crayons and finger paints. This eventually took me down the road of art and before I knew it, I was stopping at the art store on my way home from school and found myself buying new colored pencil packs and sketchbooks with my lunch money.

Laura Barbosa

Toms River, New Jersey

I was making a decent living at a young age with nothing more than a few bottles of fabric paint an airbrush and a pack of generic sweatshirts. As time went on, I started painting wall murals and experimenting with different media. After accomplishing more pieces, I grew as an artist. The traits and techniques I developed as a child actually create the anchor that my creativity rests upon today.

It seems that each year I became more free with my ideas and techniques. My Creative Process My emotions and thoughts pre determine what is going to develop on the canvas. I work from the subconscious mind and many times I will wake up with an idea in the morning. There are so many ideas in my head that I need to carry a sketchbook with me to jot down the thoughts coming from my head. I have been known to be in the middle of a conversation and have to excuse myself to sketch an idea in my book before I lose it.

This is the beginning of my creative process and from this point I cannot wait to get to my studio to start painting. I work mainly with acrylics and ink. I like to use them together to achieve the effect I want. For my abstracts I prefer thick acrylic paint, texture and using the palette knife to mix and push the paint around the canvas. I don't like using brushes and have come to love the sponge and the use of my finger for blending but for my animal portraits, brushes are needed for detailing and creating fur. On occasion, I will dip my whole hand in paint and start creating to see what I come up with. If the subject matter is very specific then it must be planned out. For example, my animal portraits are carefully calculated before I begin.

Laura Barbosa is becoming known on an International Level and is a Published Artist with Public Collections. Her Collectors reside in Australia, The United Kingdom, Canada and in all 50 United States.

Laura’s Painting Entitled: Model has been chosen for HGTV\'s new show: Battle on The Block and will be featured in an up coming episode in April of 2010 the West Orange NJ Show. In 2009, Her “PUG DOG” was picked up by a scout from icon shoes for their many products such as handbags, golf shoes, belts, purses and more. http://www.iconshoes.com

Selected Exhibitions:
December 2009 - All America Tour - Chalk Farm Gallery, NM USA
December 2009 - All America Tour - Miranda Gallery, CA
March of 2007- Splash Contemporary Gallery in Asbury Park NJ. March Madness Show - 6 works on Exhibit.
July 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009- Stover Mill, 56th, 57th, & 58th Annual Tinicum Arts Festival- Erwinna Pennsylvania - 7 Works on Exhibit. *Published: NY ARTS Magazine 2008* Hollywood Reporter * Forbes & more *Public Collection: Community Medical Center in Toms River, NJ* *Winner, \"Horse Dance\", Cultural Arts Center, Brick, NJ
2008 *Winner, Stover Mill, Acrylics Category, \"Bordeaux Dog\" Juried by Bill Novak,
2007 *Featured Artist: Imagekind Gallery on Easter Sunday
March 23 2008 *Art E-Motions Contest Winner- Boundless Gallery -
May 2009 *Artist of The Month - Boundless Gallery - Artist Interview -
July 2009 *EBSQ Award Winner \"Patrons Choice\" For \"Uncanny Valley\"
May - 2009 *EBSQ Art of the Day - For \"Orange Scope\" Digital Art - June, 19,2009 *EBSQ Award Winner - For \"Mardi Gras\" 2009 *Artwork \"Shapeshifter\" Chosen by Well Known Writer for NEW BOOK (Kim Carlsberg) Public Collections: Community Medical Center (St. Barnabus) Toms River, NJ 2008 Fund raiser for The Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs.

3 paintings of 12 Working Therapy Dog Portraits. Acrylics on Canvas - 24\" x 48\" This work is on Permanent Public Display in a HUGE collection at the St. Barnabus Health Care Facility in NJ.

This Public Collection has raised $7500.00 for the Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dog Org. to help maintain their training and education for the welfare of Patients throughout America. Commissions: Small to Giant Custom Artworks for Home or Office Decor.