Meet Lauren McElroy | Artist, Designer and Mural Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren McElroy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Art has been a primary means of communication since humans have had tools. While I often view designing and creating murals and artwork on a day-to-day level, I do feel part of the long lineage of visual storytellers, artisans and craftspeople who have helped shape the culture of their times.

When I work with clients the first part of my job is often to understand them as people. To discover what is important to them- their values, identities and passions and to translate that through my hands into a work of art that we both like. For the local business that can mean telling the story of how they came to be or helping to create the space of their dreams. For the expecting parent that can mean designing a little piece of the world that they welcome their little one into. For the local school that can mean developing large scale mural projects incorporating curriculum and student volunteers to assist in the process. For household brands that can mean building a bridge to the community and creating meaningful interactive experiences or developing impactful spaces. Whoever I get to meet along the way, I always hope to connect on a real level. I feel like the best art is created through honesty and the best life is lived through integrity.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a muralist, designer and fine artist who runs L Star Murals based out of Los Angeles. I started my mural painting business in 2012.

In the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing. I bought some flyers, an overhead projector, an office chair and my friends gave me a ladder. I remember working 30 days in a row, basically all the nights and weekends around my full-time job, to paint these 7 masonite panels…. and then the client wanted revisions. I had never even heard of a revision before! Many tears were shed on that job, but ultimately I got to send my artwork to The Hard Rock Cafe in Florida and I thought that was about the coolest thing in the world at the time. Of course, if I calculated my hourly rate, it was probably abysmal, but hey I was doing the thing I wanted to do! At that time I was uploading my portfolio anywhere I could for free. This was before Instagram took off so I was sending flyers through the mail, going to networking events, talking to shop owners and saying yes to almost every job that came my way regardless of what I would be painting.

In 2019 I got really jazzed about the idea of painting abstract murals, and started developing a series of work exploring these more intuitive designs. I am influenced by patterns and systems in the natural world, always looking for interesting juxtapositions. I play with bold color and the tension between organic shapes vs. crisp geometric forms, creating harmonic imaginary worlds I call Geoscapes. The first of these murals was donated to a local business, and the second one was a 1,000 sq ft wall I got to do as part of the Ladies Who Paint Mural Walk in San Diego. After that I slowly began to get requests from businesses and brands that were interested in hiring me for this work. I finally began to steer the ship I had been sailing on!

Over the last few years I have really honed my voice as a mural artist. The work I create is all aesthetically rooted in a bold, graphic, playful approach, and whether it is abstract or representational I make it my own. I have had the pleasure of working with some recognizable names like Target, Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, Trek Bikes, Shake Shack, Ford and The Girl Scouts. I’ve also been extremely motivated in my own community working with local business, neighbors, and schools to foster meaningful connections through artwork.

Last year I designed and painted a 52 ft long mural at Eagle Rock Elementary School, with the help of 300+ students and volunteers. The project was sponsored by the PTA and a grant from the local neighborhood council. The 4th through 6th grade students were involved in voting on the theme, requesting specific elements they would like to see in the mural, and voting on the design “Let’s Grow Together”. I toured their campus and documented the types of plants and trees they had growing there, including those along with the three most prominent languages spoken by the students- English, Spanish and Tagalog. Over the course of a week in October we painted the mural together, with groups of 15 students arriving every 30 minutes. It was really fun and the mural turned out pretty amazing!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It depends on what’s going on, but I would definitely include hiking, great food, checking out some art, and of course hitting the west side for some beach time!

We would grab a breakfast and coffee from one of my local spots- Cindy’s, Habitat, Amara Kitchen, Penny Oven. Then pack up some goodies and lots of water for a hike at Amir’s Garden in Griffith Park, or to catch a waterfall at Eaton Canyon or Chantry Flats, The Commonwealth Trail at Griffith or an epic trail in the Santa Monica Mountains. If we make our way to the west side, we have to have lunch at Malibu Seafood across from the beach, then park and hit up Zuma in the afternoon.

At night for dinners we would swing by one of our faves- La Cabanita in Glendale, Sugarfish, Sushi Yui in Sierra Madre, the rooftop at Perch, Jitlada in Hollywood, and everyone always wants In & Out, so ya know!

For art, we would catch a show at The Hammer, MOCA, the ICA, The Broad or some galleries. I would definitely take a ride on Angel’s Flight in downtown LA, then grab a cider and some oysters and fries at Grand Central Market. We’d also have to grab an ice cream and walk along Venice Beach, wander around downtown and the Arts District hunting down murals and taking photos, and getting some relaxing beach time in at South Redondo.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost, I want to shout-out my partner Brian who keeps me fed, loved and supported through the highs and lows of running a business! Next of course I have to thank the awesome growing network of friends and colleagues who I’ve met through painting murals. We don’t create art in a vacuum. I feel surrounded by a great group of talented artists, muralists and sign painters who always have a thoughtful approach to tackling the challenging aspects of what we do and are generous in sharing their knowledge, contacts, shortcuts, successes and failures. It encourages me to grow and share what I know! And last but not least, I want to shout-out all the amazing businesses and brands who trust in my vision and skills and hire to create artwork for them! Working for encouraging, adventurous and delightful people makes my work an absolute privilege.

Website: www.Lstarmurals.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lstarmurals/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-mcelroy-833a7666

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lstarmurals/

Image Credits
Rocky Arroyo, Ira Edelman, Morgan Chacon,