Too Hot for Miami? - Lauran Childs

Miami is often thought to be a wild and sexy place, so it is astonishing when an artist comes along whose art is thought to be too hot for Miami! Well, that is exactly what happened to local artist Lauran Childs.

The building housing the Red Bar Gallery in Mary Brickell threatened to close the establishment down recently because of two paintings by English pop artist Lauran Childs displayed in the window.

The management of Red Bar Gallery took the paintings down, but all is not lost.  Red Bar Gallery now has a supersized painting of a lap dancer hanging over their bar - by Lauran Childs!  

The 'offending' paintings at Red Bar were of two beautiful blondes in bikinis. According To Lauren "So it's OK for a woman to be naked in a picture and look miserable and totally powerless, like she's just been raped, but it's not OK for her to look like she owns herself, like in my art?'

'It freaks me out how acceptable it is for women to look so powerless in ‘art’. The idea of a woman being so broke she gets paid for sitting naked (model) or dancing naked (dancer) in front of stangers is really wierd and creepy to me. In my painting ‘Lapdancer’ the colors I use are unusually miserable for me and suggest what I think of that situation.'

Not all of Lauran's art is raunchy though. Indeed she has a thriving business painting portraits of owners with their pets, and her subjects range from landscapes and horses to people and beyond.

Her art is typically bright, sensual, upbeat, and she would like to use it more for the music industry. Lauran is very into the afro-Cuban funk music scene in Miami and loves to dance salsa, merengue, bamba and cachaca.

Her love of dancing is now beginning to be expressed in her art as well, and paintings of flamenco and tango dancers are currently on display as part of her exhibit at Sci Sci Restaurant in Brickell, Miami. Like some other high profile artists in Miami, Lauran prefers to avoid the gallery system and chooses to display her art in what she feels are more enjoyable and accessible places - restaurants, bars and stores.

You can see Lauran Childs' art currently at: Sci Sci Restaurant, Mary Brickell Village, Miami. Vlada Bar, Red Bar Gallery, and Mary Brickell Village.

US Vintage Store in South Beach also has some exciting murals by Lauran, across the street from Emeril Lagasse's esteemed restaurant.

Be sure to check out Lauran painting live this Friday, September 3, at Novecento in Coral Gables. This will be her first time painting live.

Learn more about Lauran's art at: www.LauranChilds.com,   www.MiamiMurals.net, and   www.PortraitWithYourPet.com. Contact Lauran at lauranchilds@yahoo.com.  Lauran is available for both commercial and private commissions.