FAA Spotlight An Artist Interview with Laura Krusemark

Fine Art America Spotlight is an opportunity to get to know some of the fantastic people creating and sharing artwork within this community. As artists, we must support each other. Each of us possess an intimate understanding of the creative process. It is this intimate understanding that allows us to truly appreciate the work of our fellow artists. I have taken it upon myself to interview some of my personal favorites here at FAA. I am deeply honored to present these interviews as they occur. Having said that, I am very excited to present my interview with another deeply talented artist: Laura Krusemark! I find Laura to be a deeply talented artist. After reading her interview, please feel free to leave comments. Without further ado:


Question: In your own words, how would you describe your art?

Through my artwork and the creation process, I strive to capture the beauty and magic that I find in so much of life. The fascination with that space of 'awe' when you see something that stops time and pulls you into another world, is what I'm hoping to capture in my artwork. I also love light and working with light in my artwork so luminous, radiant, mysterious, or magical would be some works I would describe my art as being or creating the feeling of such.


Question: As an artist, what inspires you to create? How does your creative process work?

I love the idea of creating the illusion of form on a 2 dimensional surface or creating worlds on a paper or canvas that you can enter - to me that's a fascinating and magical concept! I'm inspired by the infinitely beautiful patterns in nature, the idea of energy, light, and movement and the human form, esp. the face and hands I'm drawn to as they are so expressive!

For the creative process, it starts with the inspiration and then I imagine ideas around it, sometimes I play with images in Photoshop to collage a piece together (I do that esp. for clients with commissioned work as it gives them a better idea and easier to change than a sketch). Then I decide what medium would work best for the idea as I love to play with so many different ones and they all give a different feel and expression...sometimes mixing a few together is great too! And from there I usually do a quick sketch underneath of the idea and then start the painting/ drawing process.

I like to work the whole piece at once instead of little sections as it gives a more connected and cohesive feeling to it. I paint/ draw in larger to small and get into the details later, but most important is the foundation and structure, and composition in the beginning. If that's off, the whole piece will be off of which no amount of beautiful detail can fix, so I keep it fairly loose in the beginning. I find when the artwork has become 'alive', I feel a conversation with the being in it ... then I am feel complete for the most part, but it is still hard for me to know when exactly to stop as I feel I could always do better.
Recently I've realized it's wise to not muddle too much with things as the energy and spontaneity are so important and keep the freshness in the artwork. With too much refinement, the piece can start to be come to still and not interesting for the viewer to 'dive' into as they don't have an opening for where their imagination can take them :)


Question: Can you share a few of your favorite artists? What is it about their work that draws you to them?

I love Gustav Klimt esp. for his style and subject - the beautiful mysterious women, the textile like patterns with gold leaf and the feminine softness that he captures so beautifully are some of my favorite aspects in his work.

I also love Swedish artist Anders Zorn for his paintings, but his etchings are esp. magnificent in their form created from the line work.

And John Singer Sargent has been a favorite of mine for a long time in the way he is able to capture all information such as light, color, fabric or skin, movement and feeling in a single brush stroke. The balance between the painting looking very painterly and realistic at the same time has always fascinated me about his work.

There are so many that inspire me it's hard to stop haha! I also love Maxfield Parish because of the luminous paradise feeling he created using so many beautiful layers and details. And I love many of the Pre-Raphealites and Symbolist artists (John William Waterhouse, Odilon Redon, Fernand Khnopff) at the turn of the century for their subject matter but the ethereal and beautiful way they expressed in their work.


Question: What are your favorite mediums for creating artwork?

I love working with charcoal as well as oils and watercolor and have also recently found a love for chalk pastels. I also enjoy adding gold
and silver leaf to my oil paintings to give extra dimension and luminosity as well as energy :)



Question: How long have you been an artist?

My earliest memories are about the ago of 4-5 years old, I remember watching my mom paint and do different craft projects. I always enjoyed creating something with my hands and loved replicating things to understand them. I remember thinking how great it was that I could create my own little worlds using line and color! I would draw everyday on a big old chalkboard in my dad's woodworking shop before I was old enough to be in school and was always finding rocks that I could split open (at the time have my dad split for me with a sledge hammer since I was too little) to observe their patterns and the way the light would come through them.


Question: Have you displayed your work elsewhere? If so, where?

I have my work with quite a few private collections in the US and around the world including the Netherlands, Poland, England, and Austria. I've also been in exhibitions in Los Angeles, CA and other CA areas including Dunsmuir and Thousand Oaks. And I currently have my work in an upcoming exhibition in Pratt, KS at the Vernon Filley Museum. For online, I have my website: laurakrusemark.com and also have my instagram and Facebook - artist page as well as Pinterest- artist page.


Question: Aside from artwork, what are you passionate about?

I'm also a classical pianist and started training at 9 years old, and currently create my own compositions and have 2 albums out world-wide on itunes, Spotify, Youtube, and more. You can find them on my website as well under the 'Music' tab.

I love nature as well and hiking mountains - I'm always inspired by the beauty of nature from the large expansive skies to the tiny delicate flowers and insects.
I also really enjoy researching on healing modalities and quantum physics, energy and esoteric subjects as well and finding the common thread between all things and bringing them into my artwork as everything is connected.


Question: Do friends and family show support for your creative endeavors? Who is your primary supporter when it comes to your artwork?

Yes, I'm lucky to have the support of my family and friends in my creative endeavors! However, I wasn't sure of myself right out of college and didn't feel supported fully at that time by my family in being an 'artist' because of the belief that artist don't make money (I know they just wanted to make sure I would be okay and supported in what I chose to do)...but in so many people's minds, the whole 'starving artist' thing exists and still does but I feel that old belief is dying and needs to, so I felt conflicted at the time and decided I would go into fashion design as I could see different jobs where I could earn money and that I would enjoy within that field, so I studied fashion design in Chicago and was in that field for about 10 years, before returning to the fine art world.
I don't have a primary supporter but my biggest supporters would be friends who love to collect my artwork :)


Question: What do you get out of art? Can you describe what art means to you?

Art is everything to me, it's not only a beautiful painting or drawing, sculpture, or even music, but a way of expressing the human spirit alive in the body, seeing and appreciating creation from the Divine all around and finding ways to mirror it back through my own unique perspective. It's another level of communication that speaks directly to the heart and can bring so much to the viewer as well as the creator.
I enjoy inspiring others when I share my artwork or music creations... to see the spark of light that brightens in them and the knowing that they can also create something magical and amazing! We are all by our very nature creators, and I love seeing the expression through others as well....this interconnected communication and creation that we are capable of weaving as a human family is truly beautiful and inspiring!

End of interview.

Please click the link below to visit Lauras wonderful gallery. Also, feel free to leave your thoughts on the interview in the comments sections. Make sure to show Laura your support by leaving comments on her amazing artwork! Thank you so much for the interview Laura, and thank each and every one of you who have taken the time to read this.