MY STORY MIGHT BE FAMILIAR TO YOU...
People-pleasing and rule-following, I did everything I was supposed to.
I left school, found work, and went to university under the promise of securing a ‘real’ job.
I was embarrassed to voice my creative dreams, believing they were naïve to hope for out loud.
Instead, I tried my utmost to conform. To follow the conventional path, believing it was the road to security and success.
It did not go well.
I was not rewarded for colouring inside the lines.
Oh fuck this. Said me. I don’t even want what I'm trying to get.
Accepting this changed my life.
I could finally tune out the noise and listen to what my instincts were telling me. The more I followed them, the lighter I felt. Things started to shift. Momentum grew and, in time, I was able to build a life I no longer wanted to escape from.
And Draw By Name was born.
So, my friend, that’s the story. Lessons I needed to learn. And unlearn. I'm now thankful for the difficulty, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I would be there, wishing I was here. And I am so incredibly grateful to be here.
Thank you for being here with me.
Never settle,
Laura
THE WHY, THE WHAT, & THE HOW OF IT ALL.
All my art is observational; the output of a fascination with human nature. In particular, the social structures we’ve put in place and the ways we conform to them, masking our inner (more interesting) selves.
It is these funny, quirky, tender, intimate, corrupt, brave, broken, angry, magical parts of ourselves I observe in ink. That we might live a little more as we are and stop white-knuckling it through convention.
Creating detailed fine-line illustrations, my work combines the real and the figurative to tell a story and hone in on its underbelly. I am forever analysing what is actually going on in a given situation, and it is precisely this moment which I am trying to capture. Ultimately, it’s about embracing vulnerability and truth, however uncomfortable.
All my work is drawn by hand, beginning loosely in pencil. Ink is then added by way of fine-line or stippling. Key details are completed first before the shadow work begins to bring both visual and intellectual dimension. Any colour is added towards completion, followed by the final detailing to individualise the piece and make it punch.