Meet the Artist: 20 Questions Edition

Hi, and welcome! I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself and my artwork, but I thought I’d do it as a quick game of 20 questions.

1. What’s your name and what do you make? I’m Laura Cooper, and I make all kinds of art. For now, I’m making ACEOs for Bluebird’s Boutique, but I’m also a picture book author/illustrator. I’m constantly evolving in my style, so while it’s tiny paintings now, it will likely evolve and grow to more.
2. How did you get started making art? Though I think I’ve always loved and enjoyed art, it was in high school that I first developed a real love of creating art. Ms. Carbone, my art teacher, introduced me to watercolor, and I’ve never been the same.
3. What’s your favorite thing to draw/paint? I love drawing all things nature, especially birds and woodland animals. I’m often found outside in my backyard with my sketchbook, trying to capture activity at the bird feeder, or the way the shadows dapple under the serviceberry tree.
4. What’s materials do you reach for first? Any piece of art I do, I’m always reaching for my pencil to sketch it out first. I’m left handed, so I use a harder lead, 2H, so that I don’t smear my sketches accidentally. But after that, it varies. Lately, I’ve been using alcohol markers as my base colors, and then accenting with acrylic marker and colored pencils. But I’ve also been known to use crayon, or fineliner, and of course, watercolor.
5. What’s your creative process like? It’s heavily rooted in the emotions I feel, excitement in a new idea, or moods for picking mediums, colors, and which kinds of art I’m drawn towards. Right now, ACEOs are great because I’m often working in small blocks of time. A tiny painting means that I can start and finish something in the same sitting, and can experiment with all kinds of new mediums in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming.
6. What inspires your work? I’m inspired by how we can find extraordinary moments within the everyday, how we find and see magic within our existing lives. I love moments within moments, like sunlight angled just right to make rainbows with my suncatcher, or finding a blue feather on my walk. Our world is already amazing, if we pause long enough to see it.
7. How did your writing and illustration paths begin to intertwine? I was probably not even double digits when I remember reading How a Book Is Made, by Aliki, and thinking that it would be a dream job to be a picture book author/illustrator. First of all, that book is still fascinating, illustrating everything from how illustrations are created, scanned, and printed in layers of color. It shows the editing process, how it gets to a book store, and into a child’s hands. All in a small picture book! But I digress. I was a special ed teacher for a few years, and then stayed home with my two kids. My kids, now teenagers, took center stage for a long time. And as their own social circles and interests naturally take more of their time now, I’m able to step back and pursue my dream. 8**. Do you work in silence, or with background noise?** I need background noise! I mostly listen to audiobooks, or podcasts, or talk on the phone with my BFF, Hannah, who will keep me company all the way from sunny CA, while I work.
8. What’s something people always notice about your art? People usually notice color and texture in my work, how I layer both to create dynamic images.
9. What’s something you hope they notice? I hope they take time to look for small details. Color and texture are part of the emotional process for me, and so of course, I hope they see that as well. But in my illustrations, I like to hide Easter eggs, little gems if you take a closer look.
10. What do you do when a piece isn’t working? Usually, it’s because I’m too close to it, or I’ve been working too long on it. If I don’t like it, sometimes putting it away for the night, and coming back with fresh eyes in the morning helps me see it without so much self-criticism. But often, I’ll notice the missing piece to balance it better. But also, sometimes I scrap it and start over! Honestly, I’d probably save myself a lot of work if I did quick sketches first, but my brain doesn’t think in a straight line. I’ve got to see how it doesn’t work, before I find what does.
11. What role does storytelling play in your art, and how do your stories come to life? I think all art is a kind of storytelling, and all storytelling is a kind of art. I think it’s why I love picture books so much. At least half of the story is told in images, and if it’s done especially well, you almost get two intertwining stories from the way that the words and images help and support each other. It’s a dance between them, to find the balance to allow the words to breathe, and allow illustrations to add their own storyline and themes.
12. What does art mean to you right now? Art has been and continues to be a means to understand myself, to explore ideas, to process emotions and events. I get crabby when I haven’t been able to touch my sketchbook, or my pencil. It helps me to quiet the static noise always playing in the background, like an active meditation.
13. Do you ever get stuck? What gets you unstuck? Everyone gets stuck at one time or another, and I’ve definitely been stuck before. I think of it like a closed fist, squeezing the creativity too tightly. What’s helped is to not force it to let go. I take walks, nap more, eat chocolate, go out with a friend, anything that will help me forget enough to let the mental fist relax on its own.
14. What’s a recurring theme in your art that even you didn’t notice at first? My artwork, both in writing and illustration, have something that’s quietly persistent, something asking to be seen. Whether it’s wilted leaves with tiny splashes of color still hanging on, or birds weathering snow storms by puffing up their feathers, they’re strong, even if they’re not big.
15. What’s your dream for your art? I want to illustrate my own picture books, create original pieces, big and small, to explore new mediums and creative ideas, and I want to be able to make enough money from that to be able to create full-time. I want to make art that people can relate to, that they see something of themselves in it, an emotion or an idea they want to keep.
16. Where can people find your work? Thanks for asking, lol. I’m on Instagram and BlueSky @LauraCauthorillustrator, and here at Bluebird’s Boutique! You can find my illustration portfolio at LauraCauthorillustrator.com.
17. What do you hope someone feels when they hold a piece you made? I hope they feel a spark of joy, something that makes them more likely to find magic in their own everyday world. Because it IS there. Everyone is living in the extraordinary; we just have to slow down long enough to see it.
18. What’s something you’ve learned about yourself through creating? I’ve learned that I’m my own worst critic, and if I’m not careful, I’ll talk myself out of doing the Thing out of fear of failure. And you’ll never achieve what you want if you don’t even try, so I am constantly pushing myself to do it anyway.
19. If you could leave one small offering to the world through your art, what would it be? It would be a viewpoint of seeing something fully, and loving it for its imperfections. It’s what makes the world so interesting and entertaining, and where the magic and extraordinary live.