Portfolio

Originals

A variety of artwork, series, and collections by Laurie Gaal. Click through each collection to see all pieces created as part of each project series, or check out "Individual Pieces" at the end for individual pieces not part of a series.

Modern art. Digital drawings of women face close up translucently on a abstract colourful background, with abstract black lines and patterns.

A series of modern art on the topic of mental health, wellbeing, and dissociating in modern society. The images include a bright, flowy spray paint background in a variety of bright tones, almost like Rorschach test ink blots. Behind the spray paint images of impressionist art from a variety of artists occasionally shines through the spray paint. On top, translucent images of digitally drawn young adults are on collaged. The images are blurred and duplicated, and the people feature modern clothing and are from a variety of different backgrounds and identities. The images are finished with bold spray painted lettering with 12 different sayings, such as "in search of serotonin", "entering my dissociative era", "even baddies get saddies", "Houston, I am the problem" and other statements related to mental health and dissociating.

A contemporary art series features digital drawings of women repeated in the same and different poses, with their shadows stretched and blurred to create a unique composition. The women are from various backgrounds and may be standing in poses, smoking, holding video cameras, and a variety of other poses. They are placed on a vibrantly coloured spray painted abstract background on top of book pages, with the spray paint dripping down and colours blending into each other.

Political art related to wealth and status. Newspaper clippings from financial articles is spray painted and stained, with collaged hand drawn images of business people in suits, with brief cases, and other signs of business are adorned with various statements on hand cut canvas pour art lettering, including statements like "are you a prophet or are you for prophet", "eat the rich", "wake the fuck up", and "it's not bribery if you call it lobbying".

Modern mixed media art pieces. The art has backgrounds of pinks, blues, purples, and other bright tones of spray paint. Underneath the spray paint are newspaper cartoons and games and squiggle lines of bright colour from oil pastel. On top of the backgrounds are transfers of various digitally drawn images showing a variety of people from the waist down in crowds, with people, and appearing to be out on the town. Their shoes and fashion are in focus. Some wear fancier dress clothes and shoes, like heels and loafers, while others are more casual shoes, like sneakers, sandals, lace up boots, and even cowboy boots.

Modern art. Digital drawings of women in strong stances with large, ornate coats, dresses and fashion. The clothing includes a variety of jewel tones and vivid colouring, with hand drawn flowers, foliage and plants. The images are repeated, with cut outs showing the wood of the canvas underneath as the shadows of the women. The women and shadows are outlined in black pen and a bright white background is used to create contrast.

Modern political art making a statement about war and childhood. Large wood backgrounds feature pages from a weapons book, with various war and blood staining on top. On the images, paintings of children, a boy and a girl, playing with toys; a toy airplane and toy water gun, to be specific. The children are happy, smiling, and unaware of the macabre backgrounds they lay on. Lastly, spray painted bold red lettering shows two different statements; "There war money is stained with your future's blood" and "Your futile wars were never really about the children, were they?".

Contemporary art piece. Digital drawings of youth, vibrant people are duplicated in an artistic form. Some walk left, and duplicates of the same person walk right. These images are high contract and the models adorn street wear style. They are on an abstract background with book pages, spray paint, soft grey and blue tones, and various squiggles and lines of colour in oil pastel.

World War 2 inspired art is shows various photos of soldiers in uniform with WW2 aircrafts, motorcycles, and ceremonies. These images are translucently placed on a background of collage with code themed booked pages and rust tones.

Woman in astronaut suit, yellow coat, abstract background.

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Commissions

You have a unique vision and need for your art, and together we can bring your creative creation to life. While I mostly work on original ideas and series, I take a limited number of commissions per year. Commissions are highly collaborative, consultative, and involve having the right artist for your work. Learn more about my process to see if I am the right artist for you.

If you're ready to submit a commission inquiry, submit the form below. Or, read on below the form for more details about the commission process.

Commissions Form

More Details About Commissions

Subject Matter and Mediums

What I specialize in

Not my jam

(there may be other artists better suited for this request)

Mixed media. Pieces that encompass collage, found objects, photos, or various mediums, like acrylic paint, ink, oil paint, and various other art materials.
Digital art and photo manipulation. Have a family photo you want turned into mixed media or themed art? How about pictures of the family pet? Any high quality photo I can create digital drawings, manipulation and transfers can work. This is my specialty.
Colourful portraits & nudes. Expressive paintings of people using arbitrary colour, bringing the features of humans into a full new light.
Abstracts. Strong compositions that play with colour, form, shapes, flows, and textures.
Other themes or media. Just ask! I may have my specialties, but I am a jack of all trades, and would always rather you ask or inquire and we can take it from there.

Traditional portraits (ex: Mona Lisa)
Hyperrealism
Extra small pieces
Highly detailed landscapes/cityscapes, portraits of animals, fantasy (I can take this work on if you have a strong source and consider a mixed media piece, but will not often take these projects on if they are just acrylic or oil paintings)

Note: I am open on subject matter and your vision, but if I am not confident that I can bring your art to life in a way that will reflect what you are seeking or will not do justice to your needs, I will let you know before taking on your project or commencing your work, always. Your satisfaction and creating quality work will always be my deciding factor on if I take on your work.

The Process At-a-Glance

1.

Let's Chat...

Intake & Aligning

You express your interest in a commission and we conduct an intake together so I can understand what you're looking to have created, and clarify expectations and deliverables.

We'll discuss your vision, themes, colour palette, any sources or references, size, materials, colours, potential timelines and rough price.

2.

All the fine print... Pricing, Schedule & Deposit

Once we know what you want created, we'll schedule a date to commence work, determine our timeline, and I will provide you with a pricing quote.

From here, we'll review and sign our contract, you'll pay your deposit, and then I'll get ready to start your creation, per our agreed upon terms.

3.

We're cooking... Commence Project

It's time to get to work. I will share updates along the way and confirm details and adjustments as work is conducted, per our contract and timeline.

Some pieces may be finished within 7-14 days, while other pieces may take weeks or even months, depending on size and complexity.

4.

We're almost done... Complete Project

I'll continue working on your creation until your vision is complete! Once done, I'll share an image of your piece with you for any final input.

I'll make any final tweaks and any finishing details, like finishing the sides, adding any hanging hardware, varnish or protective layers, and create a certificate of authenticity for the final piece.

5.

This is exciting!... Completed Piece Received

This is the moment you've been waiting for! Once your piece is completed and you've approved the final art, you'll pay your final fees, and I'll deliver your art. I'll also ask for your consent to share piece on my website and social media and review how to care for your art.

Deliveries are free within Calgary or Airdrie. Items needing shipping may have additional charges, as outlined in our contract.

Ready to submit a commission inquiry?

Submit Inquiry

More Details About Pricing

Pricing Philosophy

When I make art, I am sharing something that is unique, one of a kind, and can never be duplicated, even by AI. I price fairly for the work itself and my skill and expertise.

Pricing Approach

As a mixed media artist, sometimes pricing can get more complex than using just one medium alone. To address this uniqueness and keep my pricing consistent and fair, I use a sum of square footage multiplied by a baseline rate with added art index to price work. The index takes into consideration the complexity of the piece itself vs. just using square footage alone to calculate price. Each year I assess my fee schedule and adjust as appropriate.

While prices for each piece varies, for current price examples to give you a ballpark, you can visit my art originals shop, and we'll chat about prices in our commissions intake before any work commences to make sure it feels right before we proceed.

Pricing approach

Pricing Methodology & Examples

If you want more details on pricing, here is more information on how I approach it.

1. Conduct a quick square footage calculation

I add up the square footage to get a standard number. The larger a piece, the higher the number.

Example:

A 10 X 12 inch piece would be 10 + 12, or 22

2. Determine piece complexity through an index calculation

I determine the following on a 0-3 point scale:

Cost of materials and mediums used.
Complexity & skill needed to create your piece
How time consuming a specific method will be

Example:

A painting uses only acrylic paint (0), is a straight forward piece with only one simple subject (0), and is moderately time consuming (2), so it's index is 2.

A piece on a very large canvas, using oil paint, found objects, collage and about 7 other art materials to make (3), is a very detailed face that needs deeper artist digital manipulation and then about 4 different artist methods to complete the piece (3), and requires many layers that take extended drying time (3), so it's index is 9

3. Add the index cost to my artist base multiplier

For commissions, I use a base multiplier of 16. I've determined this as of 2025 to be a fair base number for me as an amateur and emerging artist (not a beginner or hobbyist, but not an established career artist)

Example:

My painting with an index of 2 is added to my base multiplier of 16, for a total multiplier of 18.

My piece with an index of 9 is added to my base multiplier of 16, for a total multiplier of 25

4. Multiply the square footage sum by my multiplier

I simply take my square footage sum and multiply that by the total multiplier

Example:

My 10 X 12 inch painting has a square footage sum of 22 and a total multiplier of 18; the price would be $396. I may price this piece at $390 or $400 for a round number

My 10 X 12 inch painting has a total multiplier of 25, so the price would be $550

Ready to submit a commission inquiry?

Submit Inquiry

Portfolio

Commissions

Commissions Inquiry - Let's Make Something Together

More Details About Commissions

Subject Matter and Mediums

The Process At-a-Glance

Ready to submit a commission inquiry?

More Details About Pricing

Pricing Philosophy

Pricing Approach

Pricing Methodology & Examples

Ready to submit a commission inquiry?

Let's Chat

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