“I make only what I want to see. The decisions come easily, instinctively; they are unclouded by external voices.”
Refractions of a Creative Self
In the heart of South East London, Laura Jane Scott’s studio quietly pulses with colour, form, and a compelling balance of structure and vulnerability. A mother of two and a fiercely devoted artist, Scott crafts geometric compositions that transcend classification, bridging the divide between painting and sculpture. Her work—often relief-based and rich with bold, refined palettes—resonates with those drawn to the harmony of shape and space. Through a practice rooted in Minimalist Geometric Abstraction and Colour Field painting, she creates pieces that challenge the assumption that simplicity lacks emotional depth. Instead, each work becomes a meditation on presence, intention, and the subtleties of the human condition.
Her journey into the arts began with a foundational course at Camberwell, followed by a degree in Graphic Design at Ravensbourne University. Yet, it was during the profound emotional shift of early motherhood, particularly through the lens of post-natal depression, that her artistic voice truly emerged. Realizing the necessity of creativity for her wellbeing, Scott began making art in moments carved from the margins of her daily life. These early explorations—often produced in solitude, far from academic critique—allowed her to reconnect with her instinct and intuition. This return to self became not just an awakening but a reclamation of her identity as a maker.
This deeply personal revival also led her to an aesthetic language rooted in clarity and intention. Scott’s pieces are shaped by a desire to express what she calls “an investigation of form and colour,” a phrase that underlines both the analytical and emotional nature of her process. Her compositions aren’t simply decorative or conceptual—they are direct extensions of her inner landscape, formed not just by paint and wood, but by silence, time, and introspection. Through these creations, she found her place in the world again—not by adapting to existing molds, but by building her own, one shape at a time.
Photo credit: Sam Bush / Sam Bush Photography
Laura Jane Scott: Structure as Liberation
Long before she identified fully as an artist, Scott wrestled with the perception that art demanded spontaneity and emotional chaos. Teachers urged her to be looser, more expressive—suggesting that restraint and order were somehow oppositional to artistic authenticity. Yet her love for straight lines, for control, for intention, never left her. These qualities, once seen as limitations, ultimately became her greatest strengths. Over time, she reframed her natural inclination toward structure not as a flaw but as the very core of her creative voice. Her work today stands as a defiant celebration of clarity—proof that discipline and freedom can coexist.
Scott’s transition from graphic design into fine art came not from ambition but necessity. Initially drawn to design for its rule-based logic and technical discipline, she eventually found the digital nature of the field creatively stifling. What began as a pragmatic career move ultimately revealed itself as a detour. Once she stepped away from computer screens and returned to working with her hands, she discovered that her natural instinct for minimalism and form was not only valid but vital. By producing work that mirrored the kind she admired—art she would pause for in galleries—Scott aligned herself with a tradition that valued intentionality and clarity over visual noise.
Her creative process is neither chaotic nor romanticized. Instead, it is grounded in a deep sense of purpose, clarity, and respect for the materials she uses. Each composition starts as an internal vision that she seeks to externalize with as much precision as possible. This internal-to-external journey is not about replication but realization—how closely she can bring the piece in her mind into the world with all its shape, weight, and hue intact. For Scott, the quiet rigor of her process is itself a kind of liberation, a way of asserting that control, repetition, and refinement can be as emotionally resonant as spontaneity.
The Vocabulary of Form and Silence
Scott’s artworks resist narrative, yet they pulse with personal meaning. Her practice aligns with the principles of concrete and reductive art—forms that aim to express only themselves, devoid of overt symbolism or metaphor. But beneath the clean edges and saturated colours lies a quiet emotional frequency. Each piece begins as a search for compositional balance, yet often ends up reflecting unspoken parts of her lived experience. It’s only in hindsight that Scott can trace connections between the work and the shifting personal contexts in which it was made—whether that be solitude, motherhood, or the desire to protect her inner world.
Recent works have introduced a compelling new tension: the interplay between presence and absence. By carving out recesses and voids within solid forms, Scott imbues her pieces with a physical and emotional complexity. These spaces invite shadows to enter the conversation, creating depth and ambiguity within the clarity of geometric lines. They represent not emptiness but refuge—a container for introspection. This move toward creating indents and hollowed spaces is deeply autobiographical. As someone who values privacy and quiet, Scott is drawn to the paradox of being seen while simultaneously holding parts of oneself back. Her recessed works echo the internal landscape of those who both crave connection and require solitude.
In these pieces, colour is more than surface; it becomes substance. Her method involves painting multiple layers onto wooden surfaces, sanding between coats until the pigment becomes inseparable from the structure. Colour, for Scott, carries weight. It asserts itself not as decoration, but as an entity with volume, temperature, and presence. The aim is always simplicity—not minimalism for its own sake, but a stripping away of anything that doesn’t serve the essence of the idea. Through this pursuit, she offers viewers a space for contemplation, where form and void, colour and shadow, invite a different kind of attention: quiet, sustained, and deeply felt.
Photo credit: Sam Bush / Sam Bush Photography
Laura Jane Scott: A Practice Built on Instinct
The turning point in Scott’s artistic career arrived unexpectedly in 2016, when a small piece from her Perspective Series was selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. These early sculptural works—painted wood assemblages shaped by trial, intuition, and quiet persistence—marked her first foray into finished pieces after years of experimentation. Created without commercial intent and submitted without expectations, the piece’s acceptance offered both recognition and momentum. Its presence in the prestigious show led directly to her first solo exhibition and gallery representation, catalyzing a professional trajectory that has continued to evolve since.
Her working methods have grown increasingly refined but remain grounded in hands-on experimentation. Greyboard models precede the final wooden constructions, allowing her to test scale and proportion before committing. Wood, now her primary material, wasn’t a deliberate choice at the outset but emerged through necessity. Its ability to support clean lines, bear colour evenly, and withstand sanding and layering made it the ideal medium for her vision. The process of applying layer upon layer of paint—followed by gentle sanding—achieves a finish that feels inseparable from the surface itself, allowing colour to act as structure rather than mere coating.
At the heart of Scott’s practice is a fierce independence. Though she continues to exhibit widely, the driving force behind her work remains deeply personal. There is no master project or grand scheme—only the sustained desire to keep making, to remain in that space of quiet focus where instinct overrides external validation. She describes her practice as a space where comparison and doubt fall away, replaced by the calm certainty of following her own eye. In that space, she is fully herself—without compromise, without explanation. It’s not just an artistic philosophy, but a declaration: that the purest work emerges not from chasing approval, but from listening inward and following that thread wherever it leads.
