Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Crockett.
Hi Laura, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In 2019, I decided I wanted to try new things more often and made it a goal to be more creative. I went to the store and picked up a canvas and some paints and brushes and painted a portrait for the first time. I absolutely loved everything about it. The process, each step along the way, and the end result all brought me so much joy and satisfaction. I felt like I was expressing myself in a completely new way. After that, I never stopped painting. I tried a few things besides portraits, but I found that portraits were what I loved most – particularly portraits that portray emotions that can be felt by anyone who sees them. It astounds and moves me every time I get to step back and look into a face that was just a blank canvas before, and the feeling gets repeated every time I see or hear from someone else who is impacted by my work.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Creativity is such a tricky thing to harness. As soon as you try to push it in a certain direction, it is almost like it shuts down. When I first started painting, as soon as people found out I could do portraits I had so many requests for portraits. Since I hadn’t found my own voice and purpose in my art, it was difficult to know what to do, who to say yes to, and how to make time for simply creating and exploring my art. For a long time, I didn’t even want to accept that I was an “artist” because I didn’t feel like I fit the mold, knew the lingo, or understood what that even meant to me. Even going into craft stores was intimidating because I genuinely didn’t know what I was looking for most of the time. It took a long time for me to really develop my purpose and voice in my art – which turned out to be even more important than developing my skills. I still hesitate to think of myself as an artist sometimes, and I’m definitely always redefining my creative limits, but it is something I absolutely love and find incredibly fun and freeing.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When my little sister was young, my mom was constantly looking for dolls, books, and art with African American representation. Despite intentionally seeking it out, she often could only find limited, if any, options. All forms of art have their place of significance and voice in culture, and representation matters in each one. Having seen my mom’s experience, and attempting to help her find more diversely representative art over the years, I felt a responsibility to do more with my art. That is, in large part, what has inspired most of my work. While my general specialty is still life and portrait paintings, whenever I can I use my art to specifically highlight the underrepresented innocence and joy of Black and Brown children.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
For those just starting out, it is so important and valuable to find what is truly meaningful to you. There can be a lot of noise and pressure to do art that others will appreciate or will make money, or maybe just stay within a comfort level, but if you never give yourself the freedom to really find what matters to you, your creativity will dry up fast. It is impossibly challenging to stay motivated and persistent enough to work hard and keep trying if what you are doing does not actually mean anything or is not interesting to you. If there is anything I wish I would have known from the moment I touched a paintbrush to a canvas, it is that the only way I would be able to both enjoy art and continue creating was if I found what mattered to me and let that drive my art, not the other way around.
Contact Info:
- Email: laurita.crockett@gmail.com
- Website: www.artbylaurita.com
- Instagram: @art.by.laurita
- Facebook: facebook.com/artbylaurita
- Other: pinterest.com/artbylaurita
Image Credits
Christian Prather
