LauraMakesArt

10. I started drawing when I was pretty little, so I dont remember the first sparks of inspiration. A lot of my early drawings were sailor moon, kirby, and dragons. Nothing ever felt as rewarding or freeing as drawing. I never really put it down for very long, and the periods of my life where I felt like I had to really slow down, I quickly get a bit despondent.

11. I think that overall, I got more comfortable with the themes and shapes that I liked. through middle and high school, it was still dragons, self portraits, and WoW fanart. I started to explore a wider range of visual interests as I went through art school. The Dags, as they are now, is a post college thing.

Jeremy Sorese's comic The Short While, and Michael Deforge's book Leaving Richard's Valley are wreaking havoc on my mind right now. Such freedom in their style and approach to narrative.

I'm also loving 3rd Voice.

4. Favourite things to draw?

Teeth/Fangs, and weird eyes, fur and hair. Shoes, even though they drive me mad.

23. Do you listen to music or watch shows while you work? If so, what’s your favourite?

I cant take in visual media while I work, so I listen to music instead of watching shows. I listen to tons of music and podcasts, and every year I try to make a new playlist called summer jams, which is all the new songs I liked.

On rotation right now: Nelward, Animal Collective, Sen Morimoto, that Danny Brown/JPEGMAFIA album, Jay Som, Who is She?, Remi Wolf, Dev Lemons, Flamingosis

I'm also a product of my time, so the all time favorites are: Radiohead, Gorillaz, Cake, Outkast. (Open Mike Eagle and Doomtree might be in the all timers, now, though.

24. How do you deal with artblock?

I'm a doodler... I dont often get blocked, I just draw the dumb things until something worth exploring comes out. When I feel truly stuck, its because I'm forcing myself to do something I dont want to. I only share maybe 40-60% percent of the drawings I make.

7. Favourite works of all time excluding your own?

My most consistent love is probably comics, starting early with news paper comics and then manga. Chris Ware's comics occupy a huge amount of my brain space (Rusty Brown), as do Michael Deforge's (Ant Colony, Birds of Maine)

In terms of singular images, hard for me to focus on a single painting. But my treasured artbooks are: Jamie Hewlett, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, Katsuhiro Otomo (Posters), Jackie Ormes, and Schiele

17. What inspires you?

Art has been a consistent outlet and companion in my life. When ever I go to a new place, I seek out the art museums and galleries and seeing new stuff always gets my gears turning. Seeing Art is my favorite way to connect to the world, so lots of little visual details inspire me.