We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laci Fowler. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laci below.

Hi Laci, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve gotten to work on has been creating book covers for Harper Collins. There are twelve covers currently— all classic titles, like Little Women and Jane Eyre.

I love books. Children’s books and biographies, fiction and nonfiction. To play an artistic role in the literary community is something I’ll never quite get over.

And I’ll never stop publicly thanking Kate Armstrong.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve been painting professionally for almost 10 years. I am most known for my florals. I also love sketches and lively scenes with people and animals interacting. I love the story it tells. Or the story it suggests, really. A good painting should take you off the canvas into another world where your imagination comes alive. Even at a young age I would stare at a painting and think “what is happening beyond that sidewalk or tree or ocean they painted? Who is there and what are they doing? What would I be doing if I was there?” I still do this when I look at a good painting. That’s the kind of art I want to create.

I am very intentional about pulling from my actual daily life for inspiration. I think this is what sets me apart— C.S. Lewis once said: “ Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

I think this is vital and I’ve seen it work in real time. The best thing an artist could ever do is stop trying to compete with some artist on Instagram you’ve never met.

Practically speaking, for me, this looks like starting with words I love that I think represent me well, like “quirky” and “imperfect” and “floral”…..other words might include: dainty, funny, thoughtful, observant, questions. I like questions.

So anyway. I start there. With these words. And I have a maddening amount of fabric and paint samples that I’m always playing with to make my paintings come to life. It’s a makeshift system that totally works for me. Everyone must find their system. And that system starts with telling the truth. Pay attention to what you’re drawn to. Not what you’re “supposed to be” drawn to. And build on that.

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

Our pastor recently gave everyone in the service a card and each individual was supposed to write what they believed they were called to do on that card. It was meant to help everyone take a good look at what they are gifted at, what they desire, and what affirmations were present to support the first two.

I did not take this lightly. It took me weeks to actually write something down. On my hardest day, I need to know why I keep going in this field.

I don’t paint to pass the time. It is part of how I was created and I want to be a good steward of it. In the end, I ended up writing this:

“I am called to belong to Jesus, to create beautiful things in a broken world and so point to the better country that we as believers long for and to love my neighbor by helping them recognize and appreciate beauty visually and otherwise not only through what I create but by making much of the gospel, which is beauty defined.”

So yeah. That’s my goal!

Why are you here on this planet? Ask yourself that question. I dare you. 😉

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The first several years of painting I lived and died by Instagram. What worked and what didn’t. Who had the most followers and why? I wasn’t being myself, I was trying to be some version of someone that already existed. It doesn’t work. Unlearning that was painful and profitable. When I look back on that season I see all the things I wish I had done differently but I’m also thankful I went through it. It was humbling and necessary. So much growth came from it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lacifowler.com
• Instagram: @lacifowlerart

Image Credits

Jessica Kerr