For NE art student Lauren Bird, selfcare and her love for art is a journey she captures in a series of oil-painted self-portraits showcased in her upcoming solo exhibit.
series of paintings. (ALEX HOBEN)
If art often imitates life, Bird said her journey to becoming an artist follows that same idea, getting her start when she saw her sister coloring.
“I was like 2 years old and walked up and started copying her,” she said. “I’ve always been the art kid.”
That early moment of coloring alongside her sister would eventually lead to Bird showcasing nine pieces in her own exhibit 20 years later. Bird’s exhibit opens from 12:30 to 2 p.m., Thursday, April 10, in NFAB 1308A.
Bird said the first piece in her show was never intended to be a part of a series. However, the self-portrait of Bird in the shower won “Best in Show” at the TCC NE art show in spring 2024.
The self-portrait captures a moment of Bird in the shower with her eyes closed and water streaming down her face.
NE student Noelle Runge, who’s known Bird since 2020, said Bird likes to paint what she calls intimate moments.
“She focuses on those small moments that you have to yourself every night that you don’t really think about,” Runge said. “The fact she put it on canvas is really admirable to me because that’s something I would want t
o keep to myself… So that’s something I really love about this show. It’s just a bunch of moments a person felt comfortable sharing.”
Runge said one of her favorite pieces of the exhibit is one of Bird with pimple patches on her face as it shows a vulnerability she doesn’t often see portrayed in art.
Bird said she kept a time log so she could track how long each painting took with pieces taking anywhere from 40 to 50 hours depending on her availability.
“I was waking up every day over the summer and just kind of cranking them out, but once school started, it’s a lot harder,” she said. “I paint for three hours in class, and then I take it home, and if I have time, I paint. It was just pretty constant trying to get it done.”
Bird puts time and dedication to her art despite chronic pain in her arms and legs.
“I’ve been dealing with nerve pain for about three years,” she said. “Some days I wake up and I have energy, and I feel like myself… And then some days I wake up and it’s just like ‘Wow, I can’t move.’”
Bird said she sometime uses her weekly sketches and paintings to reflect her chronic pain. However, this series is more
about loving herself despite the pain.
“So many of my paintings have been an act of self-love,” she said. “When you genuinely hate your body, not for the way it looks but because it’s doing this thing to you, I think it’s really good to do the self-portraits and really examine myself. You learn to love every feature because I’ve painted every feature.”
Bird credits the support of friends like Runge and mentors, like NE painting teacher Richard Parker as the driving force for the creation of the series.
“[Parker] basically changed the trajectory of my life,” she said. “I’ve got some people in class that have really helped and supported me… Above all else,
Parker has been the biggest supporter and influence where my art’s concerned right now.”
Every spring, the art and photography department holds its art show at the Fort Worth Community Art Center, but due to its closure, Bird had to find a different gallery and Parker said to use his classroom.
“Parker offered me the show and then I had a few concepts I was considering like recreating famous pieces in my self-portrait style,” she said. “Parker brought up the idea of just doing self-care and that sounded very manageable.”
heirloom ring is featured.
Parker said Bird’s swift hands capture the visual form of self-portraits, saying she really found her voice in his Painting II class.
“Lauren’s oil paintings deal with the self-portrait as a medium for introspection and contemplation of her personal life journey,” he said. “Painters have a long history of utilizing self-portraiture and those works expressively reveal the artists’ life to us.”
Visual art major Deaja Gowans said it was important to have fellow art students have their own exhibit on campus.
“I think it’s amazing that [Bird] is having an art exhibit,” she said. “Seeing her prepare for it and how excited she is and nervous. I’m honored to see that.
