I had the pleasure of meeting Laure Cuvillier at the Silverlake Art, Craft, and Vintage show last month. I was immediately drawn to her dreamy style and cool totebags! I wanted to find out more about her as a person and an artist. Laure was born in Paris, where her love for painting developed and now she is living here in Los Angeles.
I love the imagination I see in her artworks. Especially, that little cowboy boot with tabs that reminds me of a paper doll accessory.
Laure, what made you decide to become a painter?
Painting/designing has been a nagging habit all my life! I’ve tried to give it up many times but I can’t stop creating new stuff for too long! I grew up spending a lot of time by myself. I had whole universes filled with imaginary friends in my head. At some point I realized I could bring these imaginary to my real life by depicting them. I drew and drew and drew. My mother signed me up for a life drawing class at the Louvres museum in Paris when I was 12. I went there every saturday for two years to learn how to draw realistically. After a couple of years, I could really draw whatever was on my mind. It was like a superpower, that allowed me to acquire whatever I wanted. I just had to draw it and it was mine, in some way. I guess this never went away; the swirling worlds in my head, the element of surprise when I see how my imagination translates onto paper…. There is a lot of abstraction in my psyche, ideas and feelings I do not have words to distinguish. Visual expression gives me access to obscure, undeciphered parts of myself. I think this is why I became a painter.
I should also mention that Laure studied at Hunter College of Art in New York, and the College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco. She is a trained painter, printmaker, ceramicist, and all around talent.
I love the lightness of the paint on the panel in your work…and the horses!
What materials, themes, or ideas inspire you the most?
I like the idea of communication and relationship, or lack thereof (which is really the same thing in essence) This could be the relationship between two or more colors, shapes, elements, ideas, concepts or mediums. There is something unique about each connection; a story emerges within the blending, the overlapping, the hinging, the touching. A relationship begins with each encounter; it is activated by the witnessing of the viewer, which adds a new layer of narrative and relationship.
Could you please share one interesting or little known fact about yourself?
I am also a a creativity coach. I assist people in creating and developing a personal creative language and/or artistic process.
That sounds wonderful! If someone is looking for a a creativity coach how shall they contact you?
laure@laurecuvillier.com
What an inspiration.
