This is a family business.

My watercolors are at the core of this operation, but we’re definitely still a team. My husband, John and I make every item that we sell out of our home-based business in North Carolina. Our products include my original paintings and reproductions, custom matting and framing, and a large assortment of watercolor note cards. There’s a big feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment for us when people buy our products, because we know that we put a lot of ourselves into our work. It’s incredible to make something all on your own, and for it to become something that is valued and treasured by others.

We got into this business in a rather roundabout way, although I would say that I’ve always been an artist. I was an only child until I was 10, but I don’t remember being bored very often, because I would entertain myself with lots of art and craft projects. My need to create things is near the center of who I am. But I never thought it would take me anywhere. I just made things for fun.

John and I fell in love while we were still in high school and married young. A few years later, our son was born, and we were busy working jobs and trying to support our family. But I never lost my urge to create for even a moment. I explored and enjoyed everything from sewing to origami, and painted any suitable surface with craft acrylics. Oddly, though, I don’t remember ever trying watercolors (other than when I was little, and painted with those little watered-down pans of Crayola on drawing paper!)

Then, something changed. We had moved to a small coastal town in North Carolina for a few years, and while I was there, I fell in love with the work of several local watercolor artists. I recognized the special qualities of the watercolors. Their transparency was captivating to me. It was something about the way you could see the fresh, white cotton rag paper underneath, and about how it was so transparent that you could sometimes still see the artist’s small pencil lines from their planning sketch underneath. That transparency is what makes watercolors sing to me.

I began practicing watercolors after work, in my spare time, in about 2006. I learned from library books, which was natural, because I was always browsing the non-fiction isles to learn how to do something new. After a few years, I began taking pictures of my works, and would sometimes show them to other people who enjoyed art. Next came a request or two to purchase my work, and with John’s strong encouragement, I decided to start framing my pieces and offering them for sale to the public.

Right from the get-go John has been a huge part of everything. He started preparing for us to be able to do art and craft fairs, and I built a website and opened an Etsy shop. He took over most of the framing and making the note cards, while I kept painting and started making my own giclée productions. We’ve turned my hobby into a full-time business, selling artwork at shows and festivals, art galleries, and online through Etsy and my website, www.lauraposs.com. Our next big step is to open a gallery in the front part of our house. We have the space and plans to make it happen!