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

Lolo, Larissa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My first inkling was in 8th grade. It was my second year of having a true art teacher who taught me art fundamentals, and not just art crafts during art class. I had started to draw portraits and found it exhilarating. I was home sick and sitting on the couch drawing a portrait of a gnarly mountain man when I daydreamed about how there are people doing art full time. That maybe this could be my life? School and life and sports got a away from me and it wasn’t until I had a traumatic brain injury in my middle 20’s that I was back on the couch making art to keep myself sane.
The art I made throughout the next couple of years turned into a collection. My family and friends would ask to see it, and once I realized that those around me loved it, I started to put it out there as professional works. I sold two pieces before making my website and I have just followed the dream from there.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have studied art throughout my life and intertwined it with my love of nature at Willamette University with a degree in both art and environmental science. As a fifth generation Idahoan I grew up with a strong connection to the land. The great expanses of rural area have always surrounded me, and generations of my family have brought me out to the mountains, helping fuel my deep love and respect for the many ranges of Idaho mountains.

I began to rely heavily on art after getting a brain injury from being t-boned on the highway in 2016. It was one of the only the things that could pull me out of my pit of despair while my brain was healing. I still have issues with my vision and experience “visual snow” all day long. It is like the dots now live inside of my eyes too. Since my brain has been able to heal more fully I have been able to take the sketches that I began in my confused brain state and expanded them to my two current dot collections. It makes my soul feel whole again to be able to build my own dot world on paper. I am excited that I have had the opportunity to take the next steps in my art career. I hope you enjoy my collections where I delve deep into the dot way. It has been healing and inspiring to work with a slower method of the ink medium.

I considered myself a “modern pointillist”. I work with painting dots using acrylics and oils on canvas, and ink on Bristol.
Both methods force me to pay attention to the tiny details and slow methods.
I have both landscape, and abstract collections. As the history of pointillism states, it is founded on color theory. The works of my abstracts are focused on “color studies”. The first collections are single palette works that let the color tell their story. I work to get into a flowstate to let the color come through.

My landscape collections bring those color studies all together and meld them into places that I have hiked in real life, and some that are only in my dreams. The abstract mountains are always based on a mountain range that I have visited, but are more of the feeling of the area. I hope to let the mountains speak through me and hopefully instill more love and respect for mother nature.

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

Slow down in your shopping! In your rush to decorate your house it is very easy to just buy some illustration from target or wayfair, but by doing that you are taking away wall space from a truly unique piece. I am always shocked by how much wall decorations at these larger retailers cost, and that they sale. I hear that “art is expensive” to buy, but in reality most prints from artists are the same price as those cheaply made counterparts in big box stores. Let yourself slow down and find the unique beautiful pieces from your local artists. Only do your holiday shopping at local art shows.
I personally love going to the summer art fairs and browsing for presents. I like to buy birthday gifts months in advance from art fairs. It may take a little more planning and organizing at home to keep those presents hidden and ready, but the thoughtfulness of the gifts are extra special in the end.

On a larger societal scale, support universal healthcare. It is so difficult to be an entrepreneur with any medical problem. I know many artists who just go without health insurance because it is too expensive. It is taking away from many artists to have to hold onto a day job while making art on the side simply because healthcare is out of reach.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want to help people slow down and see the world from a different view. Pointillism is a very slow art form. It forces me to slow down and notice the tiny details all around me. Through the dots, I find a solace in patience. Our society has sped up almost all aspects of our lives, and I want to help us re-discover how slowing down has it’s benefits too. When we allow ourselves to slow down and notice the tiny details up close we can come back to our inner peace.

The natural world is abundant in tiny little “entertainments”. Like, your head being buzzed by a hummingbird, or the dramatics of the magpies. When we slow down and let these little dots of life be seen it just brings such magical mystery back to our daily lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: lolodotdot.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lolodotdot/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086639194955
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/larissadehaas