Lauren Litwa
Lauren Litwa has been making art her entire life, beginning as a child with a love for painting that has only deepened over the decades. She attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, graduating in 1985 with distinction as the recipient of the William Emlyn Cresson Traveling Scholarship Award the Academy’s highest honor which included three months of travel throughout Europe exploring world-class museums, followed by an additional year of studio painting at the Academy. Lauren is a studio painter working primarily in oil on canvas and wood, as well as watercolor. Her work is imaginative, nature-inspired, and deeply spiritual, reflecting a vision that transcends realism to explore a more meditative, otherworldly perspective. She maintains two studios: one in Rockville, Maryland, and a secluded off-the-grid cabin in Trout Run, Pennsylvania, overlooking hundreds of acres of state game land.
Throughout her career, Lauren has embraced unique creative opportunities that have shaped her artistic voice. She has completed commissions that allow her to create heart-centered work tailored to each client’s vision. She has also participated in residencies in Florence, Italy, living in a 16th-century villa, and in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, at a dune shack dedicated to creative solitude. Her work has been recognized internationally, including a $10,000 grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Canada, and has been influenced by global travels, most recently to Costa Rica. She has exhibited extensively in prestigious venues such as The Pennsylvania State Museum, The Delaware Art Museum, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, and the American Embassy in Brussels. Awards such as the Purchase Prize at The Art of the State highlight her contributions to contemporary painting.
Lauren’s art is informed by a lifelong spiritual connection to the natural world and a curiosity about unseen forces. Her imaginative landscapes and figures reflect dreams, meditation, and an intuitive sense of the universe, offering viewers a window into a vibrant, lyrical, and contemplative world. Influenced by artists like Will Barnet and Paul Gauguin, as well as the cinematic vision of M. Night Shyamalan, her paintings combine color, narrative, and spiritual resonance. For Lauren, being an artist is an ongoing journey of discovery each piece a testament to growth, joy, and the enduring power of creativity.
• Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts -
Certificate in Painting, Fine Art Painting
• Four Year Certificate Painting Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
• Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for Painting
• First Prize Painting at The State Museum - Art of the State - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Honorable Award at FAME The Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts In Philadelphia 2017
• Purchase Prize at the PA State Museum at Art of the State 2015
• Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
• Creative Artists Network
• Donated art to various organizations
What do you attribute your success to?
I grew up in a household where my father was able to create anything, and my mother was also very creative, painting ceramics when I was a kid. So there was a strong family influence. I'm one of five children in my family, and we were very close-knit. I grew up with a lot of animals around, and my grandparents came over from Poland and bought land and had a farm. Each of my father's siblings got land by the farm, so all of my aunts and uncles and cousins were nearby. You could walk to each other's house and go through the fields. That kind of childhood was so ideal, with that strong sense of family and cousins. That strong family influence really shaped who I am.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to follow your passion and your intuition, and to create from the heart. Create heart-connected work, because people really feel it in the final painting. Just keep sticking with it, because it's a journey. Being an artist is a journey. I feel like I'm learning something new every day still, and I'm 67, and you never stop learning and growing and being connected. The work gets stronger and stronger. It's a real joy to be a creative person. Music also plays a big part in connecting and creating, having that right setting. Audio and visual, that's a great connection with how music can influence you and lift you up as you're creating.
Locations
LitwaArt
Rockville, MD 4867