Artist a runaway success

Around her, well-groomed spectators chat, cheer and shout as the game heats up, and Laura has to drag herself back to the task at hand.

The western Queensland-based painter and graphic artist is a guest of the Polo in the City organisers as their artist-in-residence, invited along to paint and sell miniatures of her renowned horse paintings to happy, horse-loving spectators.

This is Laura's third gig painting live at polo events.

She also did the Sydney and Melbourne Polo in the City events in November, and for the past two Victorian Spring Racing carnivals has been a guest of Gai Waterhouse, painting for guests in the famous horse trainers' corporate box overlooking the mounting yard at Flemington.

It's exhilarating but exhausting work that has her painting up to eight miniatures and one large painting in a day.

"It is hard work painting for a crowd, but it's all about capturing the spirit and the feeling of the moment - the freedom of the horses," she said.

"That's why being beside the action is so important.

"I feel absolutely exhausted by the end of the day but I love the feel of these events, and it's just good fun to be there and be part of it."

A lover of horses and riding herself, Laura has become a fan of the Polo in the City format.

"Polo in the City is really like a 20/20 version of a normal polo game.

"The field is one-third of the size of an average field. It's a shorter and faster version of the game that is really designed for the crowd - it's really exciting.

"I'm pretty passionate about connecting people in the city back to the bush, and I really think these kinds of events help to do that."

Laura also feels a strong connection with the game that dates back at least 2000 years, making it among one of the oldest sports in the world.

"As I sit there and watch, I think of its ancient roots.

"I think of my traditional Chinese ink style and the importance of capturing the spirit of the moment of this ancient game, and I see how interconnected it all is.

"It's a big part of why I love painting horses. They are such free, strong, clear spirits."

The scenes on the field in front of her are another valuable opportunity for Laura to hone her skills painting horses.

"I didn't just want to do racehorses, and painting at the polo is really quite different.

"The horses are more compact. They have a different movement to racehorses. It is a bit more collected.

"But really the whole thing about painting live is about capturing the spirit and the atmosphere of the day. Capturing a good feeling - that's the most important thing for me."

Laura's live painting work at the Polo in the City events and the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival have capped off a busy few months for the mother of two.

For the past four years, Laura's iconic paintings have also been on show at Myer's flagship Melbourne store as part of their spring-racing fashion season.

Laura also hosted her own solo exhibition in Melbourne during November - staging a collection based on a trip she and husband Rowan and their two children, Finn and Luca, took to Lake Eyre earlier in the year.

Titled #douglastodesert, the exhibition was held at OnStone in South Melbourne.

"That exhibition was really all about putting a good body of work together from our trip to Lake Eyre, which I just found ridiculously inspiring," Laura said.

"The colours. The vastness of the place. It's hard to comprehend that area was once an inland sea, but then you look at the ground and you see all these desert plants that actually look like they should be underwater.

"I love that whole idea of worlds within worlds. The idea that there is more out there than what is in front of you - and I just found it really inspiring."

Laura's life has, in recent years, taken on a flat gallop pace during the spring-racing events, but she said her work in Melbourne had exposed her to some valuable connections.

"I've met lots of great people and had some good commissions from connections met in Melbourne who want me to paint their horses for them.

"I have also collaborated with Polo in the City on some limited edition scarves that will be launched at Polo by the Sea in Sydney on January 10.

"I created a pattern called Horsetooth which we used as part of a line of cushions I had hand-made in South Yarra, and they are doing the Polo in the City tour in the Waterford Crystal VIP marquee. Its nice to see them in there.

"There have been so many layers to this journey - so many new opportunities around every corner."