https://www.lawrencemcadams.com/

Lawrence McAdams Artist, 167 North Atchison Street, Orange, CA (2026)

02/28/2026

🔴 SOLD My painting ‘The Waiting Room’ was just purchased by Hilbert Museum of California Art as part of their permanent collection! Thank you! The idea I am sharing in this painting is that two very different types of people thrown together in a random setting. Maybe a waiting room, maybe an alternate reality where rules don’t apply the way we understand them. Both figures are hoping for a meaningful relationship with someone, sometime. But probably not much chance of breaking out of their predetermined comfort zones and lifestyle decisions.
Although in my magic realism depiction, who knows what sweet, simple and unexpected object or idea could cause them to exchange a sentence or two? Good things can grow from unexpected sources. Side note: he is reading a fictional paper based on Brandon
Sanderson’s Stormlight Archives.

02/07/2026

My painting ‘Harbinger’ recently sold at the Sullivan Goss Gallery in Santa Barbara. Thank you Nathan, Susan, Jeremy and Lauren! The image was my Southern California take on René Margritte’s surrealist masterpiece, ‘The Castle in the Pyrenees’. I added a flight of birds to hint at the scale. Hope the new owner enjoys it as much as I enjoyed painting it!

01/23/2026

A lifelong love affair with books inspired me to paint a young woman discovering her passion for reading at an early age and the enchantments that are ahead.
My “Wonder at Every Turn” oil painting is 24”x24” and captures a reader completely absorbed in books and their possibilities. Golden light pours across her hair and gown, that contrasts with the cool blues and muted jewel tones of the surrounding books turning them into a dynamic collage of stories, ideas, and possibilities. At the center, the book in her hands anchors the composition, drawing the eye back to the act of reading itself. Where every turned page may reveal a new world of wonder.

12/04/2025

Hope you can join us for Laguna Beach Art Walk tonight at the Sandstone Gallery! It will be the first time my painting ‘Once Upon An Ellsworth’ will be exhibited in a gallery. Although it has been exhibited in the Bowers Museum! l Thought you might enjoy the back story about this painting. As you may know, the pixeled square in the middle of my painting is based on the 1952 Ellsworth Kelly painting he named, Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance. 65 years later, in 2017 at the SFMOMA, a family from Sweden walked in front of Joyce and I to view the painting as you see here, wearing the exact colors Ellsworth choose by chance!!! And, I was able to take the photo this painting was based on. Life imitating art? If these colors happen once, it’s by chance, if it happens twice is it a conspiracy? My melding the squares and the figures together, and setting the painting floating above the ocean is an attempt to communicate that magical reality. The painting is 36” x 36”.

11/15/2025

A few months ago I was juried into the international online gallery, Singulart. What an honor! Recently I found out my painting, ‘Afterglow’ had been added to one of the gallery’s curated collections, ‘Art Deco Dreams’. Very cool! When I created this painting, I aimed to blend realism with a touch of magic, capturing a timeless moment atop an iconic architectural marvel built in 1930 and christened the Eastern Columbia building. We used to own a condo in the building and one day on the roof I found an unauthorized vertical access to a ledge with a unique angle of the central tower. I thought it would be a great environment to surround a young couple as they begin their life’s journey, bathed in the glow of the Art Deco motif symbolizing hope and forward motion against the vast night sky. Positioned at the brink of adventure, this piece speaks to the boundless possibilities that arise when we dare to step into the unknown. All the while, embodying an art deco sense of elegance and grandeur. And it’s on sale until the end of November.

11/15/2025

A few months ago I was juried into the international online gallery, Singulart. What an honor! Recently I found out my painting, ‘Afterglow’ had been added to one of the gallery’s curated collections, ‘Art Deco Dreams’. Very cool! When I created this painting, I aimed to blend realism with a touch of magic, capturing a timeless moment atop an iconic architectural marvel built in 1930 and christened the Eastern Columbia building. We used to own a condo in the building and one day on the roof I found an unauthorized vertical access to a ledge with a unique angle of the central tower. I thought it would be a great environment to surround a young couple as they begin their life’s journey, bathed in the glow of the Art Deco motif symbolizing hope and forward motion against the vast night sky. Positioned at the brink of adventure, this piece speaks to the boundless possibilities that arise when we dare to step into the unknown. All the while, embodying an art deco sense of elegance and grandeur. And it’s on sale until the end of November.

11/07/2025

Surfers really experience the Joy of Life! But maybe my painting is a metaphor for my excitement of participating in the Laguna Beach Art Walk First Thursday, for the first time, as a resident artist in the Sandstone Gallery. Hope I’ll see you tonight between 6-9pm. If the paintings don’t bring you in, then maybe JDsoulsurfer’s pumpkin bread and chocolate chip cookies will.

07/29/2025

Updated my booth at FOA with a painting titled ‘Once Upon an Ellsworth’ it’s based on actual ‘Life imitating art’ that I witnessed in 2017! l As you may know, the pixeled square in the middle of my painting is almost completely based on the 1952 Ellsworth Kelly painting he named, ‘Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance’. 65 years later, in 2017 at the SFMOMA, a family from Sweden walked in front of me to view the painting as you see here, wearing the exact colors Ellsworth choose by chance!!! And, I was able to take the photo this painting was based on. Life imitating art? If these colors happen once, it’s by chance, if it happens twice is it a conspiracy? My melding the squares and the figures together, and setting the painting floating above the ocean is an attempt to communicate how true magical reality can be. Hope you can come by and see it in person. Booth 27

07/24/2025

Last Sunday was Demo day. I had the pleasure of painting the daughter of friends for 1.5 hrs. She was a terrific model! I was able to get a good start on her portrait but it still needs a lot of work before it really captures her. Hope you will come by and visit. The festival has been a real treat so far… and my paintings have garnered a lot of attention and prompted more unique stories than I ever thought possible! 🌍 🎨

07/02/2025

Last night, The FOA opened with the VIP Party! Thank you to the 24 VIP’s who came out to celebrate with us! One couple came all the way from Vancouver Washington!!!! And London Vale, the model in the painting purchased by The Hilbert Museum came down from Hollywood to join us as well! Hope all of you IG friends can come by some evening in the next 2 months!!!

05/22/2025

What do you think I should name this work in progress? I’m toying with ‘Flying High’ but it seems a little flat. I like this magic realism idea but it clearly still needs a substantial amount of work. And has to be finished by the time the Festival Of Arts starts July 2.

05/17/2025

Honored to be on the front page Stu News Laguna, featured in the Fresh Faces, Festival Of Arts 2025 article. It’s debatable if I have a “fresh face” or not, BUT it is my first time as an exhibiting artist :-) Hope to see you this summer!!!

Lawrence McAdams Artist

02/28/2026

02/07/2026

01/23/2026

12/04/2025

11/15/2025

11/15/2025

11/07/2025

07/29/2025

07/24/2025

07/02/2025

05/22/2025

05/17/2025

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