Lauren Guymer is a Langwarrin-based visual artist who draws highly detailed landscapes, cosmic scenes and imaginary places. The mindboggling part? She uses pen and ink to create pieces comprised entirely of tiny dots, lines and circles.

The 24-year-old had been sketching with fine liners since high school but has only stepped into the world of purely pen-created art over the past two years.

“It’s been a pretty cool journey figuring out what you can do with just a pen, some ink and a piece of paper,” Lauren says.

Last year she staged her first solo exhibition, Parallel Universe, at Off The Kerb Gallery in Collingwood. Lauren frequently participates in group shows, the most recent being Art Red Hill where she won Best in Show in her category.

With her work heavily inspired by travel and geography, Lauren recently undertook an artist’s residency at the Arteles Creative Centre in Finland. She found herself in the depths of the Finnish winter with a group of world-class artists, immersed in a program that focused on silence, relaxation and artistic expression without the pressure of completing refined works.

“Highlights include exploring the snowy forest and countryside every day, watching auroras for a whole week in the north, Christmas with the Arteles crew, and experiencing minus 40C weather,” Lauren says.

So what’s next for this emerging artist?  

“In the near future I’m going to Iceland to the NES artist residency. I’ll be there for art-making purposes for two months, and then rounding it off with a solo road trip around the country. I don’t think I can get any better in terms of inspiration for my work.  Art and travel work hand in hand for me, so that’s all I can hope for the future.”