LAUREN PHELPS

big little moments

STUDIO SCOOP | SUMMER 2025

Studio UpdatesLauren Phelps

Kras Children, Lauren Phelps, 2022

Dear Friends, 

I have to be honest. As an adult, I have never looked forward to summer. For the many years between college and becoming a mom, summer was just another passing season, sticky and short as it is here in New York City. Sure, it meant more frequent trips, but all in all, I was going about my workaholic fashion lifestyle as usual. There were still collections to design and production to manage.

Now, as a parent, I crave routine and predictability wherever I can find it, which is everything that summer is not. But, as my boys have gotten older, I am learning to become friends with the hot, unpredictable, yet more free-flowing days to come. This might be the first time in my adult life that I am genuinely looking forward to summer. June means camps for the boys here in the city. The early days of July will be spent in the glorious North Carolina mountains, where we will convene with our extended family to enjoy BBQ, dancing, trout fishing, swimming, and plenty of hiking. It is a magical place where I feel like I have stepped into a romanticized version of a 1950s retreat, a la Dirty Dancing.

In August, we will have our first stay at our new (old) home in picturesque Brookhaven, Long Island. It is an 1850s colonial with plenty of space for gardens. Through the back gate, our little dock on the creek leads out to the Great South Bay. We can’t wait to slowly and lovingly restore and update her over the years, and I will be sure to share our progress along the way. I have dreamed of this home since I was a little girl. My husband and I share a love for water, and being near the ocean has always been important to me. I grew up fishing and being in nature, with frequent trips to the Alabama beaches. My favorite childhood memories are of being with my family on the coast. We can’t wait to give our boys summers filled with tree climbing, canoeing, crabbing, and sandy turkey sandwiches while watching the waves at Ho Hum Beach.

From my Brookhaven loft studio, I’ll be working on two books, along with all of your Big Little Moments and charcoal commissions. Stay tuned for peeks and progress.

I am so thankful for all of you and wish you a beautiful summer 2025 full of “big little moments” of connection and love.

With Love,

LP

Elena in Cove, San Vicente at Majorca by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. 

BIG LITTLE MOMENTS: SUMMER 2024

Studio UpdatesLauren Phelps

I am delighted to announce that the Big Little Moments spring/summer waitlist is officially open!

My Big Little Moments sketches are loose and expressionistic studies, capturing candid moments in mixed media on toned cotton paper.

As part of the MOMS heart MOMS initiative, 25% of proceeds from my spring/summer Big Little Moments sketches will be donated to Welcome Baby USA.

PROCESS

This list will sell out quickly and is first come, first served.

  1. To join, please Venmo a deductible waitlist reservation of $200 to @phelpsstudio with the note “big little moments” - then follow up with an email to studio@laurenphelps.com to initiate the commission process.

  2. Photo submissions are due no later than June 10, 2024. Please send all options in a single email or shared folder. These images should be intimate and candid. Subjects should be unaware of the camera/viewer. No teeth, please. These may be snapshots or professional images and can be in PJs, your Sunday best, or anything in between. See examples above.

  3. Your sketch delivery will be in late summer 2024.

YOUR STORY

Studio UpdatesLauren PhelpsComment

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! As we head into 2024, I am so thankful for my amazing clients and tiny, beautiful subjects that allow me to live a life and career beyond anything I could have dreamed.

The most rewarding part of my work is listening to your stories and immortalizing them with my art. As I plan for the future, I have a few exciting projects I will be working on in the coming months and years. You are my inspiration, and your stories fuel my creative work.

Y O U R S T O R Y

What is your Big Little Moment? The “in-between” seemingly insignificant everyday moments that seem little but are incredibly big to us as parents. It could be something as small as a made-up song or a quirky ritual. It might be a single sentence or a short story. These moments are almost impossible to capture, even with a camera, and live only in our hearts. Maybe it’s something from your childhood that inexplicably lives with you after all these years.

If you have a #biglittlemoment you would be willing to share with me, please email studio@laurenphelps.com for an opportunity to be featured (anonymously or with your name included - it is your choice) in one of these major future projects.

a loose charcoal sketch of a mother embracing her two children. the mood is playful, sincere, and expressionistic.

If an artwork is produced (sketch, painting, etc.) inspired by your big little moment, I will send you the original signed artwork to keep as a gift of thanks for sharing your moment with me. The delivery timeline is not defined, as these are major lifelong dream projects that will take some time.

To submit your Big Little Moment, please reply here to studio@laurenphelps.com

I N S P I R A T I O N

"I used to dread the frequent night time wake-ups of the younger years and countless hours of lost sleep. But now that they are so few and far between I really embrace those middle of the night taps on my shoulder. I find myself just lifting up the blanket and welcoming their little warm bodies into my arms, breathing in their smell, listening to their little heartbeat all the while knowing how fleeting these little moments are”.

”When my oldest was 4 and we were snuggling in bed, she said: “You were out there in the world and I picked you. Wow, I thought there was no one like that and I picked you.” She melted my heart and reminded me how close children are to the source. I’ve kept a diary of all those little wise magical moments. I treasure them. It’s in the tiniest moments that my children prove to be my greatest spiritual teachers”.

“There’s something about that moment every morning when I open the door to my daughter’s room and there she is, waiting for me with a big smile on her little face, so excited to start the day together. There’s nothing quite like it in the entire world”.

Thank you for your love and vulnerability.

With love,

AUTUMN MOMENTS

Studio UpdatesLauren Phelps

As summer winds down and autumn approaches, I can’t help but think about the nostalgia of the season. The beginning of the school year was always such an exciting time, and I love being able to experience it in a new way through my kids.

Every new school year reminds me of the fleeting nature of these simple moments and how fast time truly flies. Holding hands on the way to school, crisp leaves crunching underfoot as we walk home from the bus stop - I cherish these early fall memories.

My Big Little Moments sketches capture these memories in a loose and expressionistic way. I am opening up my Fall/Winter 2023 waitlist for a limited number of commissions.

To learn more about the commission’s process and access my extremely limited list, please subscribe to my newsletter here.

I am honored to continue sharing your stories.

With Love,

LP

big little mom|e n t s

Studio UpdatesLauren Phelps

Over the last few years, “big little moments” has become a big passion project. The story began a few years after I lost my mother to brain cancer when I became pregnant with my first son. I longed for her presence and began searching for my early childhood memories. I then realized it was never the big milestones that were most vivid; it was the seemingly insignificant everyday moments that held my heart. These moments inform my life as a mother and inspire my work.

My limited-edition charcoal sketches were born out of these experiences, and it is my honor to tell your family stories with my art.  

big little moments sketch

Mother + Sons

graphite charcoal and pastel on toned archival paper.

I look forward to sharing some special big little mom|ents with you from some of my favorite moms as we near closer to Mother's Day. Check back here and on social as I continue to share their stories and hopefully spread some love and magic along the way…

black and white photograph of sara naghedi and her three kids walking on a NYC sidewalk

Sara Naghedi | Naghedi NYC

Sally King McBride | The Letter Nest

a black and white photograph of nicole katz of the mat with nicole katz and her two girls.

Nicole Katz | The Mat with Nicole Katz