Featured Artist: Lauragraves

It can be impossible to capture the delightful quirks and lovable absurdities of our favorite animals and pets; nevertheless, this week’s Featured Artist Lauragraves does exactly that with enviable talent and ease. Lauragraves’ store is filled with masterfully crafted snapshots of adorable animals, as well as designs that have a hint of magical realism for the perfect blend of reality and magic.

Although Laura is originally from the West Coast, they love traveling and have since found themselves settling in Montreal, Canada. As a self-described introvert, Laura admits that two of their favorite things are to “wander and daydream.” Laura’s art style brings these daydreams to life and is one that is built on a foundation of freedom and flexibility. Still, they share that the “one thing that remains consistent in my work is my love of animals.” They are fascinated by how animals and humans have learned to coexist in urban environments; Lauragraves attempts to share these moments through their art.

Lauragraves reveals that they struggled with trying to find their unique artistic voice. However, they have since realized that trying to find a consistent style was an obstacle. Instead, Laura says, “I gave myself permission to follow my intuition and do what feels right in the moment.” Today, Laura is “not afraid to change things up” and hopes to “keep exploring and learning new techniques.”  

More than anything, Laura believes that art is about being true to oneself. They confess, “I gave myself permission to just be me, and [I’m] seeing where it goes.” Art is not only about trying to capture the essence of a moment in time – whether it’s a quizzical cat or a mischievous dog – but it is also about “capturing a little piece of yourself in a medium.” Hence, Laura encourages artists to “keep on it, do a little or do a lot, just keep doing it.”