Lauren Mitchell has been drawing on anything and everything since she was three.
“... something just clicked when my mum handed over a box of crayons and a stack of butcher's paper.”
Having worked as freelance Graphic Artist for many years – as Intric8art – she has also been employed full-time as a Graphic Designer for a major retail brand in Australia. “I have quite a few variations in my artistic styles, digitally and freehand from detailed black and white ink drawings to bold splashes of colour with paint. Although I now work in digital marketing, art is still a very important piece of my life, it's my zen. When I find time outside of my full-time job to unleash my creativity I'll lose hours absorbed into my artwork.”
Lauren MitchellLauren was recently approached by RAW:natural born artist – an independent arts organisation for artists, by artists – to exhibit her work at their upcoming Brisbane event: 'Signature'. In the lead up to the event, Lauren's been preparing new works to display. Here she details her Top 5 passionate obsessions:
City In The HillsSharpies
I just spent 15 minutes counting how many different Sharpies I own currently and gave up at 168. Perhaps that's a little higher than the norm? On average one to four Sharpies will be thrown out at the completion of an artwork – either due to the lid being chewed on beyond repair (bad habit) or because I used all the ink.Teapots and cheap second hand ceramics
So I may have exhausted all the ceramic goods from Brisbane's local Op Shops within the last year, however I do put them to good use with the above mentioned Sharpie. I have a whole room dedicated to storing these '$2 bargains' with the intention of decorating them one day. Currently I have 100+ Op Shop items patiently waiting to be decorated including teapots, jars, plates, chairs... you name it. Can I please have more hours in the day?Cats
Admit it, we've all looked at #catsofinstagram a couple of times... per day, right? No doubt a few times while having a look you would've seen Panda, my darling rescue cat, being cheeky by photobombing my pics. Once I have a bigger home I'd like to take on more cats. Crazy Cat Lady in the making...
Four FiguresIntricacy
I'm slightly obsessed with perfection. A clairvoyant once told me to lose that word from my vocab and my life, as 'perfection' was impossible and would drive me crazy. Obviously I didn't take on the advice. You know those feelings when perfection really satisfies that inner OCD? That's why I love drawing linear cities and figures with detail inside of detail, there's something completely soothing and satisfying with neat and technical lines that all just seem to click. Although I'm far from 'perfect', I'm still slowly improving my technique. It's my zen.Cities
I love to travel. Even though I'm such a chicken when it comes to heights, I just absolutely love staring at cityscapes from the top of tall buildings or towers, even while the backs of my legs turn to jelly. Each city is so unique. Although it may look so static from afar, never lose sight of what's going on in the smaller picture – that's what inspires me to draw so much detail in my city pieces.Intric8art exhibits at The Met 7 April as part of RAW: Brisbane Presents Signature, as well as Brisbane Table Tennis Centre 3-5 June.
