“I find the practice of comic writing and drawing to be much more rigorous and to stretch my imagination further than my fine art pursuits.” - Laurie White
“The Biscuits” by Laurie White, Digital illustration, 12x16in, 2018
The line between “fine art” and “illustration” might be a slim divide when one focuses on technique, but there is often a qualitative distinction in which high-minded aesthetes choose to look down on the latter for its reliance on commerce-driven creation. Laurie White frequently confronted such attitudes in studio classes.
“In my undergraduate program, as a student seeking degrees in both painting and graphic design, I felt like a misfit. My painting classes sought a fine arts focus and my pieces were often critiqued as being too narrative and literal. I also struggled with the mastery of simple shapes necessary to communicate in my design program. After graduation, I realized that my true path was to explore and further my talents and propensities through illustration, comics, and political cartoons. Here is where my knack for narrative and my interest in design could harmonize.”
Artists as celebrated as N.C. Wyeth, Winslow Homer, and Andy Warhol occupy museum walls but were labeled illustrator earlier in their careers. The art of visual communication in advertising has grown more and more sophisticated moving into the 21st century, and there is a long tradition of book illustration that is well represented today in the variety of graphic novel concepts being published, so White’s ambitions lead her into a heady, competitive world.
“Part of my love of illustration rests in its intimate personal consumption and accessibility in print, book, or digital image forms,” she explains. “Specifically, I've found that comic work is much more evocative and emotive of a moment in time or relationship, than the mystique of a work created in the parameters of ‘fine arts’.”
“Benedict” by Laurie White, Digital Painting, 10x15in, 2016
“Displaying work in a gallery often made me feell out of sync with the public outside of the critical arts world. As someone with the pedigree to be considered an insider (both of White’s parents are artists), yet still feeling like an outsider, the type of post-undergraduate work that I produced made me want to bridge this alienating gap between gallery walls and the average art appreciator and consumer. My foray into illustrative work has been reaffirmed with individuals approaching me for a variety of personal commissions and freelance work ranging from tattoo design to pet memorial portraits to character style sheets.”
White recently participated in the Samhain exhibit at Tim Faulkner Gallery in October of 2019, but her more personal work still utilizes that communications design sensibility: “I produced a grid of almost sixty symbols that served as a self-portrait, representing both literal and metaphorical objects that commemorated memories, relationships, and lessons in my life (this work is featured next to me in my artist portrait). By returning all of this literal and specific imagery to the gallery walls, this piece represented the perfect marriage of my past artistic insecurities and showed my unabashed emotional and creative growth since my college graduation.“
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BFA in Painting and a BA in Graphic Design at WKU in 2014; also a graduate of WKU's Honors College.
Website: www.lauriemwhite.com
Instagram: laurie_m_white
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“Ruckus” by Laurie White, Mixed media, 14x19in, 2019
“Cat coloring book” by Laurie White, Digital drawing, 12x9in, 2018
“The Golden Compass” by Laurie White, Digital illustration, 10x15in, 2017
Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.
