“Haystack in Golden Sky” shows a pattern of lapping waves in the foreground of Haystack Rock.

It’s hard not to smile when you gaze at artist Laura O’Brien’s colorful, quirky, lopsided town landscapes she calls “Neighborhoods of the Imagination,” also the title of her newest exhibit.

“I’ve always loved walking around neighborhoods,” O’Brien said, commenting on her fondness for painting houses. “Even as a child, I would love looking at the different shapes of houses and finding stairways, secret paths and following backyard trails.”

“The houses become characters with personalities when I’m painting,” O’Brien said. “It’s as though they’re talking to each other … that’s what happens when you’re so absorbed in what you’re doing. Your imagination takes flight.”

Indeed, but it’s not only her fondness for domestic whimsy that O’Brien deftly captures. Her subjects also include flowers and more realistic landscapes.

Born and raised in Portland, O’Brien was introduced to painting at the age of 12 when she took watercolor classes with her grandfather, a noted painter.

“Painting side by side with my grandfather, and being exposed to accomplished painters, and learning techniques was wonderful. I just fell in love with everything about it, even the paints and the brushes,” she said.

Because of her love of houses and buildings, O’Brien thought about going into architecture. Instead, she studied art, graphic design and photography in college. In her 20s, she moved to Guam with her then-husband, where they established a design agency crafting magazines, tourist brochures, hotel and car advertisements and filmed commercials.

“Guam was so fun,” O’Brien said, “but computers were just coming into their own and we knew very little about them or about the surge in technology that was happening. We loved Guam, but it was so small and isolated and we figured, ‘wow, to keep up, we probably need to get home.’”

Home became California, where O’Brien transitioned into graphic design at a magazine and eventually became a creative director.

“After a few years of commercial design, I knew I needed to get away from the computer and do creative work of my own,” O’Brien said. “I’ve been lucky to be able to do that. I had a studio built next to my home and began working full-time as an artist.”

O’Brien said she still is fond of watercolor, but likes to delve into other mediums as well. “I’m always experimenting,” she said. “I’ve recently tried using acrylic ink and alcohol ink. They’re very different techniques, but I love all the differences — the fluidity of watercolor, the butteriness of oil and acrylics that can dry in an hour.

“I paint the smaller ones in a series with acrylics so I can move on to the next while the first one dries,” O’Brien said. “As much as I like doing the small paintings, they’re so intense with concentrated wrist drawing. With the big pieces, I can get my whole arm in motion. It’s a physical release, outstretched, a freer feeling.”

O’Brien will soon be moving from Portland to Gearhart, where she is building a house and studio. Her newest adventure is adding relief to her paintings — aerial views of homes in neighborhoods as seen from above.

“It’s a challenge,” she added. “I’ve chosen a section of Portland with 2,000 homes. I like to be accurate but if the images are too correct every time I do that I think it’s a fail.”

Whatever they end up being, the paintings will most certainly not be a fail. Most likely they will be her unique brand of colorful, intriguing, controlled chaos.

Paintings by Laura O’Brien

Northwest by Northwest Gallery, 232 N. Spruce St., Cannon Beach

Find O’Brien’s work at an exhibition opening from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday with an afternoon reception. Paintings will also be showcased during the Spring Unveiling Arts Festival on May 5 to May 7.