Symmetry, Color, and Conversation | Laurel Shear at Richmond Open Studios 2025
- kate70550
- Sep 3
- 3 min read
Symmetry, Color, and Conversation: Richmond Open Studios 2025
I’m so excited to invite you into my studio this weekend for Richmond Open Studios. I’ll be open on Sunday, September 7, and I can’t wait to share what I’ve been working on.
What You’ll See at Richmond Open Studios 2025
In my studio you’ll see the first works from a new series, small paintings created during my New Moon workshops, and collages that reveal more of my process. The scale ranges from intimate 8 x 10 studies to canvases more than 80 inches tall.
For this event, I’m also releasing a group of watercolors on paper and several New Moon paintings. These smaller works are one of a kind and will only be available during Open Studios.
This mix of media reflects how I move between scale, surface, and rhythm in the studio. Visitors will see how the collages inform the paintings, and how the smaller New Moon works carry the same energy as the larger canvases.
Inside the Studio
Visitors will step into an active working space. Brushes, paint-stained palettes, and my oversized glass rolling table will be part of the experience. Finished paintings will share the room with works in progress, offering a fuller view of how the practice unfolds.
The space itself holds its own atmosphere. Light shifts across the walls throughout the day, catching both raw canvases and completed pieces. The smell of oil paint, the scrape of palette knives, and the sight of layered surfaces leaning against each other all remind you that this is where the work truly happens.
Why This Year Matters
This year’s Open Studios feels especially meaningful. After a productive summer, I’m showing work that continues my exploration of symmetry, sacred geometry, and the quiet act of noticing. It’s about patterns, choices, and pushing deeper into what it means to be human today.
Teaching continues to sharpen my own practice. The New Moon workshops in particular have created a rhythm of experimentation that feeds directly back into the paintings. That back-and-forth between teaching and creating has been one of the most energizing parts of this year.
Highlights to Look For
Highlights include two new canvases, one in luminous blue and one in red and pink tones, being shown for the first time, along with the first copper-toned piece I created, which remains close to me.
Conversation and Connection
Conversation is an important part of my practice. Open Studios is a chance to connect directly, exchange ideas, and talk about the work in ways that rarely happen online. Talking with visitors often sparks new perspectives on the work. Questions I wouldn’t ask myself become a way into the paintings, and that exchange is part of what makes Open Studios feel alive.
And while you’re here, make sure to visit my friend and fellow artist Erin McCluskey Wheeler in Studio #13. She’s a brilliant artist and educator, and I’m glad we get to show side by side this year.
About Richmond Open Studios
Richmond Open Studios brings together more than 90 artists across the city, inviting visitors to step inside studios, meet artists directly, and see the Bay Area’s creative community in action. It’s one of the largest open studio events in the region and a unique chance to experience contemporary art where it’s made.
Plan Your Visit
CSI Mini Storage, 855 Parr Blvd., Richmond, CA
Richmond Open Studios: September 6–7, 2025
Bring a friend and come say hello. Richmond Open Studios is one of the best ways to connect with artists in the Bay Area, and I’d love to be part of your day.
— Laurel
Learn more about Richmond Open Studios here.