Laurel Morley was born in Boston, Massachusetts but spent her early years in the sunlit desert climate of Phoenix, Arizona. As the child of an engineer and an artist, she developed an intrinsic understanding of the nature of opposites and the forces of attraction in the world that form communication and affect the creation of art. "I was raised by very creative people," Morley explains. "From my father, I inherited an analytical mind and a love of architecture and clean, straight lines. From my mother, I learned an appreciation for the more organic, painterly approach to light and color. I think the most interesting aesthetic explorations occur in the territory where these ideas begin to interact." As a result of this philosophy, Morley's paintings skillfully blend complex yet ordered spatial relations with vibrant layered color, creating atmospheric works, which are sometimes evocative of landscape and figure, yet ultimately remain mysterious. After considering†careers in both education and architecture, Morley chose to follow her passion and studied art, graduating with honors from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting. While an undergraduate she found herself profoundly influenced by the playful abstract painting of Richard Diebenkorn as well as the vibrant interplay of light and color in the figurative paintings of Wayne Thiebaud. Morley also draws her inspiration from observing the intricacies of real life, and often travels the world in search of new and stimulating sights. Laurel Morley strives to create works, which evoke the sensual and unfathomable nature of the world around us: our perceptions, our interactions with others, our own unique experiences. As each layer is glimpsed, another seems to shimmer just beneath it, inviting further exploration of the world within.