Interview

Mar 29

Lauren Connolly

Art has always been a part of Lauren Connolly. Her favorite toy as a child was her play-doh machine. She has been creating as long as she can remember! In High School, she focused on fine art classes. She spent a few years studying art in College, however, she was told no one these days makes it as an artist. Since she was working at an aquarium, her focus shifted to biology. She spent a few years as a Dive Professional.

In 2020, she decided to start making her dreams a reality and started a drone business with my husband called JL Aerial Views, a podcast with her diving friends about exploring outside comfort zones titled Siren Soapbox, and decided not to listen to what people say about art and became a professional artist.

She had several heartaches in the Spring of 2020 and painting helped to put her back together. She would spend hours listening to podcasts and following along to Let's Make Art Watercolor tutorials. Not only did she discover how cathartic watercolors can be, she found out that she was actually pretty good! She would wake up thinking about painting and fall asleep dreaming of what she could create next. Watercolor has opened a whole new world for her and helped her find purpose again. Painting pets is what she has been specializing in.

In 2022, she made it a goal to paint 100 pets and beat it by 8! She also took home “Best in Show” at a local fair for my Fiona the Hippo Painting. This year, she is starting to teach watercolor classes. She cannot wait to see where this journey will take her!

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I have been creating as long as I can remember. My favorite toy as a child was my play-doh machine! All of my elective classes in High School were as many art classes as I could sign up for- I couldn't get enough of it! In college, I studied graphic design for a while. I was told traditional art didn't make money, graphic design was the way to go. However, it was highly competitive and my heart wasn't in it. So, I shifted my focus to biology. I was a dive professional for a little while. I thought I had finally achieved my goal and was in the career I had worked so hard for...and then the world got turned upside down. I had several heartaches in the Spring of 2020 and painting helped to put me back together. I would spend hours listening to podcasts and following along to Let's Make Art Watercolor tutorials. Not only did I discover how cathartic watercolors can be, I found out that I was actually pretty good! I would wake up thinking about painting and fell asleep dreaming of what I could create next. Watercolor has opened a whole new world for me and helped me find purpose again. Painting pets what I have been specializing in and in 2022 made it a goal to paint 100 pets and beat it by 8! I also took home "Best in Show" at a local fair for my Fiona the Hippo Painting. This year I am starting to teach watercolor classes. I cannot wait to see where this journey will take me!”

What inspires you most?

"Being in nature and trying to capture beautiful animal portraits is something I could do all day everyday and inspires me. It is so peaceful to be out in the wild. When you are still, it is amazing how close animals will come up to you. It is absolutely thrilling to capture a beautiful photograph. It is that mixture of peace and adrenaline rush! If I have a really great photograph, I immediately save it to a digital folder to paint later. I like to paint my images in my unique color palette. Anyone can paint realistically, it takes a little bit of letting go and adventure to play with non-traditional colors. The use of warm colors in place of browns and cool colors in place of blacks, makes for a fun and playful painting. I especially love painting eyes, I truly believe that the eyes help to bring the painting to life. For my pet portraits, I am inspired by the reaction people have when they see their pet's painting. Capturing their beloved animals personality on a page is something I strive for with each work of art!”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“Bright, playful, fun, adventure! I had not really thought of this before; immediately I think, it doesn't matter what color you paint with, as long as you have the eyes and a few key details down, it will bring everything together! Don't be afraid to play with color. Have an adventure and explore new things, you never know what you might discover!”

“Everyone is taught that angels have wings –– the lucky ones of us find that they have four paws.” – Jury Nel-2.jpg

How would you describe your work?

“My sister in law once described my work as a modern day Lisa Frank. I mean- what 80's kid hasn't been inspired by Lisa Frank? I took a Shaunna Russell paint your pet online class and that really propelled my work to what it is today. There are some similarities, but I believe her style is more loose. If I had to narrow it down, realistic meets colorful!”

Which artists influence you most?

“I began my watercolor journey in high school, although, watercolor was still a giant mystery to me. My high school art teacher taught me so much- from color theory to perspective to discovering your style. In 2020, Sarah Cray with Lets Make Art helped me in love with watercolor and teach me so many techniques. My favorite lesson from Sarah- it is just paper! I fine tuned my skills with Nicki Traikos with Life I Design and Shaunna Russell inspired me to really define my style.”

What is your creative process like?

“I follow my gut. If there is an image I am particularly drawn to, I will focus on that image. I like to digitally draw it on my tablet and then print directly on to watercolor paper. This initially helped me get over my fear of failure because I can always go back and print again- no need to start over from scratch. This method also allows me to do a very quick practice run with the colors that I selected for that image. This is important because if you play around with certain colors too much, it will become muddy. When it is time to go in to the final piece, I put the reference photo on my tablet and a movie on in a smaller in screen box and then just get in the zone. I like to film a time lapse for social media while I am painting too. I start with a wet on wet, sometimes go in with a glaze, then wet on dry, and typically leave the eyes and nose for last as they have the most details. End with some splashes and splatters. Then my LC initials- I don't touch it anymore once it has been initialed. Then I will take a picture of it. Rinse brushes and repeat!”

“Don't be afraid to play with color. Have an adventure and explore new things, you never know what you might discover!’

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“Art is everywhere. No matter where you look someone put time into the design of creating whatever it is you are looking at. Yet, art can be under appreciated and under valued. Especially with AI generated art, it seems that we can be easily replaced. However, I am not scared because when it gets right down to it art is more than just what you are looking at it is the heart and soul of the artist and AI could never replace that. Art moves us, excites us, helps us escape, even if it is just for a moment. It seems we are evolving to want to create more, there are tons of art classes popping up these days. I see a need for people to put down their phones and reconnect with creating with their hands and reconnect with each other through these shared experiences.”