Lauren Nicole

Lauren Nicole (LN) is a neurodivergent, Indigenous, Southern California-based artist, focusing on painting and writing. Her expressive brushwork, vibrant color palette, and exaggerated facial features convey emotional freedom, seen in her signature LongNeck (LN) portraits. Centering woman/femme subjects, her work is a commentary on radical, unconditional acceptance of every facet of the feminine experience – including those harshly judged by societal norms like aging or anger. Drawing strength from her neurodiversity, like synesthesia, Lauren’s palette contains a hidden language of emotions behind each work.

Combining elements of her Indigenous heritage (Tongva, Chumash), beadwork and Native plant relatives are commonly incorporated into her work. Lauren’s work highlights that the mistreatment of women and Earth is intrinsically integrated and one cannot be addressed without the other. Her work has been shown at The Muckenthaler Cultural Center, The Potocki Center for the Arts, and Canada’s La Galerie Numerique.

“As a neurodivergent artist, my brain processes sensory input data differently than those around me. Traits like synesthesia link my senses together instead of giving them separate lanes, like in others. For example, my brain tastes words and feels colors. After years of hiding these traits out of shame for being different, I started embracing them in my artwork.”