Tell us a bit about yourself and your style of Art!Hi there, everyone. My name is Laura Hunt and I’m from the UK. I work as a sales assistant in a greetings card shop and in my spare time I like to eat chocolate, read comics and draw.
My drawing style has developed from a love of anime and manga though I am also influenced by Art Nouveau, medieval history, steampunk and circuses. I love quirky imagery which is why you’ll usually find hanging stars, floating rocks and other improbable things in my artwork.
What first interested you about art and what made you start taking it more seriously?Most of my earliest memories are of drawing so it’s something that I’ve apparently always done. I think I first really started consciously being interested in it though was when I was about seven or eight. Around that time I remember drawing scenes from Tiny Toon Adventures and The Animals of Farthing Wood. I used to sit and practice drawing the characters for hours.
While art had always been important to me, I started taking it seriously after I finished high school. I had to think about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and my thoughts always came back to art.
How much do you think that the roots and origins of Art affect what we create today?
I think that as time goes on the early roots of art have less of a direct impact on contemporary art. Certainly, styles and themes are filtered down through the ages to be reimagined or built upon but I’m not so sure that the roots or origins themselves influence artists directly. Art has evolved throughout history and during that evolution there have been many turning points in how art is both viewed and expressed. Each new movement has roots of its own; each artist has a personal journey which has to start somewhere. For this reason, I don’t personally believe that the origin of art is the be all and end all but rather the journey of art, the evolution of it, is what makes it interesting. I think that it is the history of art, in part or in whole, that influences artists and shapes what we create today.
All of us artist experience the so called "Art block" once in a while. What do you do to find inspiration when you need it?What I’ve learnt from my experiences with art block is that it’s directly connected to how I’m feeling. It’s not so much that I don’t have ideas or inspiration, or even the desire to draw, but more that I don’t have the energy or inclination to do so. I refer to these periods as ‘life slumps’. In order to break out of these slumps I try to surround myself with things I love, things that make me smile and can perhaps cheer me up a little. Being naturally drawn to creative things I find that I can break out of the slump and find artistic inspiration at the same time. For example, I love music. Listening to a song I adore, a song that means a lot to me or evokes a certain feeling can set me back on track.
One thing I know for a fact does not help is trying to force myself to draw. It may be that some people might benefit from just sitting down and drawing anything and everything until they find that spark again but for me it’s just not the way to go. I love art because I enjoy it and if I have to make myself draw then I’m not enjoying it. I find it more beneficial to listen to good music, read a great comic and just wait for the desire to draw to come back as I know it always will.
What do you consider the most iconic artwork of all time?
The Sistine Chapel, Mona Lisa, Starry Night, David, Venus de Milo… There are so many truly iconic pieces of art that it’s hard to pick one over the other. I think as a Brit though I would have to say the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover. It may not seem on the same level as the pieces listed above but it’s something I see regularly, either in its original form or recreated by fans. It’s an image that has inspired generations and that is so widely recognised that the zebra crossing itself has been given Grade II listed status. English Heritage regard the crossing as culturally and historically important which just goes to show how iconic the image truly is.
How did you discover DeviantArt? What made you stay?
I was introduced to DA by a friend from Livejournal. She was already a member and she suggested I join and share my artwork here. What really appealed to me was the community spirit. It was really the first time I was able to talk to other artists and share this passion I had, something I’d not been able to do in real life up to that point. Over the years I’ve continued to enjoy that sense of community. It really is just like sitting down with a group of friends and sharing our love of art over a cup of tea and a biscuit.
