Laura Lim Art

I didn’t plan for this collection to be a turning point.

Last year, I painted a lot and did a lot of art shows, trying to figure out what would resonate with people. To be honest, I hustled (writing that now makes me cringe haha). But to know me is to know I don’t hustle. At a point, I couldn’t do it anymore. I was anxious about my life and I was exhausted.

So I slowed waaay down. I found a more stable job so I didn’t have to put pressure on every painting to sell. And I accepted that I had to rest.

During this time I still wanted to paint (miraculously), so I let myself experiment. I was trying to make paintings how I liked, rather than what I thought other people might want.

In the middle of this, I bought some t-shirts from and the postcard in the package said:
“The world needs your softness.”

And guys, when I tell you something finally clicked in my brain, I mean it really did.

I’ve intentionally built a wardrobe of soft, cozy clothes. I had low iron since I was a teenager (by my best estimation), which means I was chronically tired for two decades. I’m an introvert; I constantly crave the quiet of my own space, and time alone in nature where I can hear my thoughts and process things.

When I realized this was all okay and perhaps even valuable, I simultaneously stumbled into a process that kind of… changed everything. For so long, I’d felt like I was fighting the paint to make my work into something it “should be”. But in my experimenting, I finally figured out how to actually get a look that felt like the stillness and softness and exhale at the end of a long day that I always crave personally, and I finally felt like that was ok.

So I kept tweaking and testing the process. And this collection is the result.

This work finally feels like a step in the right direction — a step toward something that feels more like me.

This is a little peek at the paintings will be available at the West Fine Art Show and on my website afterwards. If you made it this far, I’m grateful for you. For a full look at the collection when it’s done, comment “updates” and I’ll add you to my email list :)