Interview with Lara Smith from Larcreates
{Interview by Bridey Ellis}
“I will always be creative, I will always illustrate, I will always use my skills to relate to those around me, I just have no idea where it will lead me.”
Lara Smith is a twenty-two-year-old talented art director and illustrator from Melbourne. I first stumbled upon Lara through her Instagram account Larcreates where she illustrates different scenes, promoting self-love and optimism, and even including a pun or two. There was an element of cleverness to her illustrations that drew me in and made me feel connected to whatever she was thinking about or trying to express.
Not only is her collection of prints beautiful, she’ll also draw your dog (I got one and it’s beautiful).
First of all, I’m a fan of your work (obviously!). How did you first get into digital illustration?
Gosh thank you so much! I have been drawing and making art since I was little. I was that girl who always did the colouring competitions in primary school and who put pride in her art, so for me art has always been a big part of my life. It wasn’t until I was in my last year of Uni, so two years ago, did I do my first digital drawing. I actually remember the exact moment- I was sitting in this hostel room in London, as I was over there for an art direction competition I had won. I had some time to spare and I had just purchased a Wacom table (pretty much a drawing screen you connect to your computer) and I put the pen to the screen and drew what I was feeling. See to begin with my art was like a personal diary, a sketch for how I was feeling. It wasn’t until I started uploading them to my Instagram did I realise that others were feeling the same way. That’s when Larcreates was born.
How has your life experience influenced your work/where do you get inspiration from?
As mentioned above, my art really does come from relatable experiences, both good and bad. Graduating from Uni was a huge adjustment for me, the world all of a sudden became so much larger and I began to feel a whole lot smaller. I discovered I was not the only one who felt like this. Illustrating was simply my way of dealing with these changes and frustrations, and what shocked me most was that people started to follow along because they too also felt the same way.
I saw that you worked on Puma’s Christmas campaign! What was that experience like?
Yeah, it was a really amazing experience. I am an art director by trade within advertising and I was working freelance with my copywriting creative partner when we were asked to develop and plan an in-store experience for PUMA across selected Australian Stores. The advertising world is a really tough gig for junior art directors and copywriters, not to mention if you’re a female, and we are a female team so we understand first-hand how competitive and honestly brutal the industry is. Unemployment is huge for aspiring creative advertising graduates, so when we were given this opportunity, we were going to impress and whoop some ass…PUMA went with our idea, so I guess they liked it haha. It was a pretty crazy experience seeing my first campaign up and running across Australian stores… a proud moment for me.
How are you finding being an artist during these times?
Oh gosh… the first couple months were fine, but it’s still all going. Honestly, it’s been tough. It’s been tough for everyone. For the time being, Larcreates is still only a side hustle for me & I am very lucky in that I have a job where I can work from home, so counting my blessings. I would say that the hardest part for me during this lockdown would be my motivation. I feel, just like everyone, that we are stuck in this weird place, inside and not to mention its wintertime. This has really impacted my motivation and drive for creating.
I saw you started your sustainable clothing venture Loved Once More, what led you to doing that? Has it always been a passion of yours to champion sustainable clothing? Have you always had a passion for the environment?
I have always been conscious of the environment and a lover of nature. I made the choice five years ago to go vegan for the environment and haven’t looked back. It was only a couple of years ago when I started to realise the cost which fast fashion had not only on my wallet but the environment. This year I actually decided to only buy second-hand clothing, and boy was I shocked at all the fabulous things I found. I am pretty good behind a camera and my sister is pretty good in-front of one, so we used all of the clothes we had bought from antique stores & op shops to capture how beautiful pre-loved clothes can be trying to convince people to Shop Op.
Where do you see yourself in the future? Do you think you will always be illustrating?
Lately I have no idea where my future will lead me to. If you asked me this question two years ago I would have replied in a big advertising agency. Two years ago I didn't even know I wanted to illustrate, let alone make a business out of it. So, it’s crazy how life changes and you change along with it. I will always be creative, I will always illustrate, I will always use my skills to relate to those around me, I just have no idea where it will lead me.
