Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janice Lau. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Janice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

I’ve been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety for years and it is always a struggle to get out of bed to do anything whenever I’m depressed. My biggest problem is that I get frustrated whenever I’m unable to create art due to that and then it leads to a creative block. I know people often say that artists can just create art through their depression, but it’s not the same for every artist. I, for one, am unable to use my depression and anxiety to create art. But no matter how tough it is to get out of bed, I would still try my best to push myself to draw something. Whether it is just a sketch of my pups or looking at things around me and drawing them out in my head, I don’t ever want to be disconnected from my creative side. That would probably be the most painful thing for me as an artist. Because of my depression, I couldn’t produce art as quickly as other artists who are successful on social media. But I learned to let it go and do things at my own pace to keep my mental health healthy. Over the years, I have learned that my mental health is very important. If my mental health isn’t well, then it affects my art, my life, and the people around me. I want to be a successful artist, and therefore I have to treat my mental health as my priority.

As I try to prioritize my mental health, I’ve been getting professional help and things have been getting better over time. Also, with the support from friends and family, I feel like I have more strength to get out and do things. Now I find myself creating art more often than before and I feel so much happier because of that.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve always been a sucker for traditional mediums over digital painting. I love the feel of the pencil or how freely I could move my hand around with a brush, creating different brush strokes with it. I love looking at colors that come out from a tube instead of on the screen. But I am enjoying digital painting so much more now.

So after graduating from Otis College of Arts and Design, I started off as an illustrator and fine artist. I would sell my paintings at a gallery in downtown Los Angeles called the Hive Gallery. It was very fun creating paintings for the gallery, however, I was unable to sell a single painting. And then, I decided to explore the world of digital art. At first, I felt very awkward with it. But after a few years of playing with it, I actually got into it and I’m creating pieces that are fun and colorful to depict my perfect little imaginary world.

Currently, I do illustrations for storybooks digitally and some graphic design works for clients. I draw a lot of animals because they are one of my inspirations. I love learning and doing anatomy drawings of them. I love going to natural history museums and zoos. I also volunteer my time at the JABCECC near San Diego. It is a canid conservation center and they were very welcoming when I asked if I could draw their foxes. A few of my works, including t-shirts, paintings, and sticker designs, are for sale and I also did a mural in memory of the owner’s German shepherds that is on display. My other inspiration would be nature. I enjoy going out to do plein air paintings whenever I go on a trip. It’s a good escape from the bustle of Los Angeles and I love capturing what I see on paper using traditional mediums such as gouache.

What sets me apart from other artists is my style of work. I love to tell stories through my illustrations. I have a series of works dedicated to the adventures of my dogs, Dany and Angel. They are one of the inspirations in my life and I love experiencing the world with them.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that I get to share my view of the world with people. I enjoy connecting with people, but I am not very good at communicating face-to-face. People tend to judge me by that, so art is a way for me to express myself and let others know who I really am inside. Also, through my series of illustrations of my dogs, I am able to share how adorably cute they are and that also feels very rewarding to me.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I had known about how to promote my work on social media earlier. I feel behind in terms of that and it has always been in the back of my head. I am still learning how to do so with the help of my other artist friends and the internet, of course. I think that being able to promote my work on social media nowadays can really help reach a larger audience and allow me to curate my work for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.janicelauillustration.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicelau_art/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-lau-a7b928145/

Image Credits
Janice Lau