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

Hi Erin, thanks for joining 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.

I didn’t start out knowing I wanted to create abstract art, or that I would end up an artist for that matter. I was a photographer specializing in children’s portraits when I saw a booth at a national photography convention displaying oil portraits created from photographs. This inspired me to take my portraiture to another level with paint. Having not studied art in school, my foundation comes mainly from workshops and creative retreats, taking classes and studying under mentors learning portraiture, landscape, and still life; quite the contrast from the large flowing abstracts I create today. I was successful and really enjoyed painting portraits… until I didn’t. I wanted to allow my brush strokes to play outside the rigid lines of static objects. To create abstract compositions based upon color, movement, and an overall feeling. Abstract art is hard if you have never tried it. How do you paint a feeling? I didn’t know exactly what I wanted my art to look like, but I knew how I wanted it to make me feel when I looked at it. I decided to stop taking portrait commissions and spent some time seeing what would happen if I didn’t have a plan and just picked a particular color and went for it. There were many, many failures but I began to see parts of my paintings that were starting to convey the type of feeling I was after. I wanted to portray a peacefulness that was strong in composition yet gentle in contrast. A big obstacle I faced, and still struggle with today, was remaining true in creating art that is an honest expression of myself, instead of following mainstream popular or safe styles which may be an easier sell. A mentor once told me “Make it work for you before you make it work for anyone else” and I try to keep that in my mind when I find myself losing my vision

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

I am an abstract artist living in Louisiana who rather unexpectedly fell into the art business. After deciding to stop my portrait work, I began posting a few photos of my abstracts on my Instagram account and received a message asking if I was represented in the Dallas area. Having only ever painted within a relatively local circle, the concept of being represented out of state was new and unfamiliar, but exciting. Sales at the time were somewhat slow, and I was still trying to hone my style, but decided on a whim to send a few pieces to Dallas. Soon after, people began reaching out for commissions, and I received more and more inquiries from shops about sending them work. I had arrived at a crossroads – did I want to try and turn this personal hobby into a business? I took the leap and haven’t looked back. Now I am able to share my art with people from all over. Much of my work consists of commissions through interior designers looking to place work in their clients’ homes. I like to start by creating small mockups of what I am envisioning for their larger pieces, then photoshop them into their rooms to help visualize what the final piece will look like. Throughout the entire process I have an open-ended approach and dialogue with my clients about each commission, figuring out how I can best create a piece of art that will fit in any unique circumstance they may have.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

When the paint lays down on a freshly stretched canvas just right. There are a lot of practical answers that any self-employed would agree on, but for me, it’s the actual creation. I don’t plan out my work – I enjoy the spontaneity and freedom that comes with improvisation. Particularly the beginning and the end. A mentor once told me that art goes through an awkward teenage stage where it isn’t quite sure of itself and sometimes, it just looks like a big mess. You have to push through and keep going. Art won’t look perfect at every stage and after the excitement of those first few marks is gone, you just have to wade through the mire in between until your vision starts to come together. And then… the excitement returns. Those once awkward layers take on new perspectives in context, and become genuine, visceral representations of the emotions I felt while painting.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Based on my own thought process before I was in the thick of it, I think that most non-creatives believe that artists just hang out and paint all day long. So easy and fun, right?! While we do get to “play with paint”, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Every artist has their own method, but in my studio, each step has been methodically thought out and tailored for a specific outcome. I stretch my own canvas using a linen that only comes in large bolts. There is math involved with measuring, cutting and stapling. I also do all of my own framing. Oil paints have a particular set of rules that must be followed to maintain their stability and archival quality. The physical painting itself makes up about 40% of my time spent working. The rest of my time goes toward planning releases, scheduling commissions, shop, and gallery work, emails, invoicing, ordering supplies, creating mockups, photographing art, and keeping everything organized. So while it is fun, and I do enjoy being involved in all aspects of my business, it is a far more thoroughly involved process than it may seem.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.erinlato.com
• Instagram: erin_lato