“Cake” | Part of the Sweet series
In her piece, “Cake,” artist Laura Shull instructs her close friend to dress to the nines in Victorian garb and go at it with a piece of cake. That feeling of satisfaction and glory in her friend’s face is shown clearly in Shull’s realistic painting, a painting that’s part of her Sweet series. A recent graduate from Kennesaw State University, Shull quickly found herself at home with oils and began to find her style in strong female characters. Her work is broken up into various series, each one with different feminine and beauty-centric motifs. Most recently, she showed her work at Phoenix & Dragon’s all-female exhibition Arcana with Laura Vela, Lela Brunet and others. Right now, she lives in a house just outside the city with her husband and cat, where she finds daily inspiration in her studio and her surroundings.
Here, Shull talks about painting in series, finding her inner goddess and promoting herself as an artist.
CommonCreativ: How did you end up in Atlanta?
Laura Shull: Having grown up in Marietta, I always knew that Atlanta is where all the things happen. I ended up going to Georgia State [University] for my first couple years of college and really enjoyed my professors, but I knew I wanted to settle down somewhere more quiet. So after finally finishing my drawing and painting degree at Kennesaw State [University], I found a little house with 3 acres and a barn on the outskirts of town. When I need to reenergize my brain, I make the trek to Atlanta.
CC: So, you just finished your Bachelor’s at Kennesaw State. When did you know that art was your career path?
LS: Art has always been the one thing that came naturally to me. There are so many things that interest me and I know I could make a career out of, but everything else feels a bit like settling. My family has always been encouraging of my art, and they’ve really helped me find the courage to pursue art as a career when I have struggled to see myself that way. I think I’ll always have a straight job on the side to help support my husband and I and to appease the more logical side of my brain.
“Searching For Home” | Part of the She series
CC: How did you find your style? Is it still evolving?
LS: Oh, it evolves every time I create something! It seems like finding your style is one of the biggest struggles of young artists and, for the longest time, I would drive myself crazy worrying that I would never find the elusive unicorn of a single voice. But one day, when I wasn’t even paying attention, I realized that I was just painting and not thinking. That’s when I realized finding your style isn’t some goal you work toward, you just find it one day when you aren’t trying. It’s probably uncool of me to admit, but the structure of college courses really pushed me farther than I think I ever would have pushed myself, and making so much work really helped me see what I am capable of.
CC: Your work is broken down into series. Is this an ongoing thing? Do you work in series only?
LS: Working in series is pretty new to me. In the past, I had a tendency to be all over the place, making a lot of pieces that had no common thread. Working in a series is a way for me to focus my energies and delve more deeply into a theme before flitting off to something new. It’s been positive for me to really stew over an idea and research everything relating to an idea to hopefully give my work more depth.
CC: You profile a lot of ethereal female subjects in your work with different beauty vibes. What inspires you about them?
LS: Identifying as a woman, I just find so much inspiration from feminine energy and all its forms. My mother and older sister were such strong inspirations to me growing up, and continue to inspire me to this day. And coming to this point in my life, where I have this yearning to create a nest for myself and my husband and be domestic, but to balance that with creating work that actually means something and make a career out of it… I haven’t quite figured it all out yet and that’s something in the back of my mind when I paint. And also, my natural tendency is to be quiet and shy, so creating these female characters gives me a chance to express my inner goddess.
“Seer” | Part of the Wood series
CC: What’s your creative process while creating these strong female characters?
LS: About 90 percent of my energy goes into the preliminary work for a piece. When I get an idea, I start searching for props and costumes, hunting for interesting antiques and outfits. A lot of thought and work goes into setting up a reference for me. Once I have everything just the way I see it in my head, I take lots of reference pictures and just start painting. My studio is the little back room of my house. It’s small, but has lots of natural light and lovely hardwood floors. My cat, Mister Otis, likes to keep me company while I work. It’s [his] favorite room in the house.
CC: What are your favorite materials to work with?
LS: I had so much fun working on wood. It really absorbs things in unexpected ways, so it’s nice to just play with watercolors and inks and see what they do on different types of wood. I’m always drawn back to oil paint, partly because there was such a focus on oils in school, and mostly because of the ways it can be manipulated. Some people hate how long it takes to dry, but I love having that open time to move paint around ever so subtly.
CC: What piece are you most proud of?
LS: The “Cake” painting from the Sweet series. It was kind of an idea I came up with really quickly and didn’t think much of. I had my friend Wesley model for me, dressed her up 18th century style, brought a strawberry cake to the photo shoot, and had her just dig in. I had the most fun painting that piece. It’s hard for me to not over-think things, so it just goes to show that when you roll with it, good things can happen.
CC: Do you hope to jump into sculpture or installations in the future?
LS: Oh yes! The idea of having work hanging on the wall, and having these little artifacts that correlate to the work really appeals to me. Also, I would really love to create ornate frames from scratch, which I’m still trying to figure out the logistics for.
The artist
CC: How do you promote yourself as an artist?
LS: There are so many ways to promote your work as an artist on the internet, it’s baffling! I have a tendency to be a hermit crab, so I’m grateful to have the Internet as a tool. Having a Facebook page for people to follow, Instagram, Twitter (I’m really bad at Twitter), even Pinterest is a great way to get your work out there and keep in touch with other artists and people who want to follow your art. Of course, just going to shows and meeting people is really important. I struggle with putting myself out there, but I’m working on getting over my social weirdness and being more outgoing.
“Push Pull” | Part of the She series
CC: What inspires you?
LS: Fashion photography, 18th century France, Art Nouveau, finding little special things from nothing, seeing the amazing work that other artists create, listening to new music, finding a nice spot to be alone with my thoughts on a nice day.
CC: What are your favorite art projects and places in Atlanta?
LS: I’m still navigating my way through all of the different groups and galleries, but I love places like MoMA’s annual pin-up shows and Mason Murer’s Fresh Blood that allow new artists a chance to hang out with established artists. And I love the more intimate spaces like Kibbee Gallery and MINT that show a wide range of work and really make themselves accessible to new artists.
CC: What are your thoughts on Atlanta’s current creative scene?
LS: It’s so active! I love seeing people who start shows and events from nothing, and half of them are younger than me! It’s so impressive to see how people work together and support each other in Atlanta, and the city itself is so diverse. It just feels so young and fresh.
CC: Anything awesome in the works?
LS: Right now I’m working on a few smaller pieces and some portrait commissions. I’ve been in a lull for a little while, and I’m still trying to set up my studio just right, but I’m itching to start working on my Sweet series again. If my head doesn’t explode from all the ideas flying around in there, you’ll be seeing a lot more decadent work soon.
You can see more of Laura Shull’s work on her website and Facebook page.
