We recently connected with Lauren Ys and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

When I first picked up spray paint, I felt extremely unwieldly- it’s really humbling to pick up a new medium and feel like you’re back at 0. I painted my first few walls with a combination of spray and brush, unwilling to give up the control I felt that a brush could lend me to achieving small details. I realized that it was creating sort of a crutch for me, and that I was not improving at aerosol as quickly as I wanted to, so I decided to put away the brush for an entire year and see what would happen. In forcing myself to commit to spray paint I definitely did advance a lot faster, although it was extremely uncomfortable and I painted a lot of really bad work, but that experimental phase was so necessary in becoming familiar with the medium that I now love so much. I also painted as much as I possibly could, taking any opportunity to practice, since spray paint is something you have to hustle to play with intentionally- on the street. It’s not the same in the studio or on a small scale. So if I had any advice to give, it would be to throw yourself in the deep end.

Lauren , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello! My name is Lauren YS, and I’m a multi-media artist with specific focus in murals and illustration. I also do design work (apparel, prints, graphic design, etc), tattoos and installation art, as seen in my room at Meow Wolf Santa Fe. The content of my work often has to do with various nodes of the queer and mixed-asian identity, confronting questions of selfhood and expansiveness. My characters often appear as part-creature or evolved from ancient Chinese mythology, and I love bringing a psychedelic flair to all of my work.

You can find me at @squid.licker on instagram!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

It shouldn’t have to be said, but supporting artists by collecting their work is how we survive. Simply consuming our artwork over instagram or the internet is not helpful in putting food on our tables, so we greatly appreciate when fans are able to purchase our creations in any iteration they are able.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I simply want to continue getting to know myself and the world better, and to create portals into alternate dimensions for when the world becomes too heavy. Art, murals, illustrations- come directly from an artist’s mind- are the salve to a world that is rapidly getting darker, and it is the unknown that is the meat of the artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @squid.licker
• Other: tiktok: @lauren.y.s email: [email protected]