Laara WilliamSen - Unconsciously I Return Again and Again to Slices of Time or Edges of Memory That Emerge Onto My Canvas (Painter From Canada)

Devyani RoyJanuary 06, 2022

You will discover your own passion for painting, especially if you work without too much thinking and do not try to make a perfect painting! Let the painting flow and find a teacher who honors your individual creative process.

1.Tell us more about your background and journey.

As a child, I grew up in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, in Canada. This was virgin forest and some large farms. My Grandfather and Grandmother Ferguson owned 80 acres nearby in Aldergrove, B.C. so my childhood was spent running through fields of grass and flowers, climbing vine maple trees, wading in sparkling creeks, and riding horses.

Most definitely, the natural world is a deep part of me and unconsciously I return again and again to slices of time or edges of memory that emerge onto my canvas.

2. When did you decide you wanted to be an artist?

When I was three years old, I remember drawing a lamb with a red crayon. My Grandparents praised me for this and my Auntie Kay gave me paper and pencils and I began to draw animals, flowers, and trees. I knew at age five years old that I was an artist. My mother asked me when I was going to my first day of Grade One Elementary School what I wanted to be when I grew up and I told her that I was an artist.

She was hoping that I would become a teacher in the provincial school system but that was not for me. I became a different sort of art teacher/ facilitator so that I could develop my own methods of individual facilitation and create my own private tutorial programs.

I have worked as an art educator for many various organizations; The Surrey Art Center, University of British Columbia, the Okanagan School of Fine Art as well as other government and non-profit agencies over the years. I was also very honored to teach at the Monteleone School near Rome in Italy!

Parallel to these teaching positions, I operated my own business, “The Lara William Sen School of Art” for over thirty-five years and developed forty creative programs for women, children, and families.

I doubt that I could have taken this confident, creative path without my dear artist friend, Christine Workman – Barnett who convinced me when I was twenty-three years old to claim my professional place as an artist. It was Christine’s deep belief in my painting abilities and communication skills that got me started teaching my first adult art class at the Surrey Art Center in 1975.

Over the years, my art language has grown and changed as I experience life. When I studied with Robert E. Wood, an International landscape painter for two years at the age of nineteen, I developed a loosely realistic style (abstract expressionism) of landscape painting that was recognizable as my own. During these early years, I painted as many as six paintings, one on top of another in my garage.

The largest leap in my way of making marks happened during the four years that I studied at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Attending full time and receiving the mentorship of Goff Rees, Sylvia Scott and Susan Hillman helped me immensely to find my own artistic language.

I experimented more than ever before. I did preliminary sketches and learned about art history. It was during these years that I began painting quickly with my fingers and I gained a better understanding of my place as an artist in our contemporary art world. I hope that my art language will always continue to change as I continue to experience new and amazing events and sights in our world.

3. Is it a financially stable career?

Becoming a professional painter in Canada demands that an artist support themselves either by teaching or by computer or graphic design work as well as painting sales. Even the most notable of Canadian painters are engaged primarily in teaching as well as selling their paintings. Having gallery representation does not guarantee a high income from art sales.

Fifteen galleries have represented my artworks, however, I began to sell my paintings from my home when I was twenty-five. I am doing very well gathering my collectors by personal referral and now have private collectors around the world. I have had 96 solo exhibitions and have been in over 136 group exhibitions both locally and internationally.

Early on in my career, I realized that I would teach art to supplement my art sales and therefore create a financially stable career for myself and my family. I did this by offering a unique service of private tutorials and small classes. In the 1970s, I rented commercial space and began my own art studio business which later became The Laara WilliamSen School of Art.

I held classes of no more than six students or did a private tutorial. I tailored the program of creative development to each student’s individual pace and style of learning. It is very important to me to honor a student’s creative development as each person has a variety of blocks to overcome and achieves successful moments in their own time.

I am so fortunate to have had 10,000 happy students by facilitating in this way. And I have learned so much from my students. It has been a joy to receive the trust of so many people and I am very grateful to each student for their confidence in my teaching methods.

4. Who is your favorite painter/artist and why?

I love the Modern Artists from the Fauve movement and the Impressionists as well as our own contemporary Canadian Group of Seven and women artists such as Frieda Kahlo, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Emily Carr. Joseph Beuys is my personal all-time favorite because of his ideals and his very committed performances.

5. What is your inspiration for creating art?

I was amazed when my cousin, Bob Upton, and myself returned to our Grandparent' Ferguson farm which is now a B.C. provincial park. We found the very same creek that we played in as children.

As I looked down into the creek from the little bridge, I really felt the energy of the light dancing on the water, the moving reflections of hundreds of greens from the trees, the gentle wind carrying the smell of earth and moisture and I knew even more deeply that these memories are a core inside me; a deep well to draw upon each time that I paint.

Every morning where I live, I spend some time looking out my window enjoying the surrounding forest. I am also two minutes away from the Pacific Ocean and I love to walk both in the forest and on the beach absorbing with all of my senses each new moment!

When I traveled for the first time to Italy to the Ozu Cultural Center for a residency, I created the Elements series not only from memories of nature but also from a deep sense of the ancient and well-traveled Italian land.

It was a very powerful and unique experience for me to feel the difference between our fresh, wild and, rather young Canada and the Old Salt Road in the country outside of Rome where thousands and thousands of people have loved and warred and worshiped for a seemingly endless amount of time. The Elements paintings are, I believe, more up close and personal than some of the other works I have done.

I do enjoy the city life and the people on the streets from all walks of life. I have done many city paintings when I was living and working right in the heart of Vancouver; BC

The endless movement, the sharper corners, the weaving of lives on the sidewalk as people hurry past; fascinates me also.

What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring artists?

For future aspiring artists, I wish to share with you the value of an online internet presence. I am very happy that the internet has opened up communication between artists and other venues.

This was just not possible in the past and artists were restricted to their own community and building out from there through the high-end galleries to reach the international art world. Now I use social media and zoom to communicate with many emerging artists as well as professionals around the world!

I have an amazing collection of friends in over seventy countries, 22,000 members on my Linked in-network, 3,500 on my Twitter account, and many more that follow my creative newsletter. I’ve received many unexpected honors and awards these past few years through these connections and I've made wonderful friends with artists around the world.

I encourage any aspiring artists to discover what is possible on the internet with a word of caution to avoid galleries and book publishers who charge thousands of dollars! There are so many great free or very inexpensive art sites to join!

Please do not pay any attention to people who give you free advice about your painting. If you do happen to hear a remark about your artwork that sets off a light bulb in your head then great, keep that advice. All other remarks should be ignored.

What I am doing now!

These past two years, I am mainly painting in my studio and operating my online Laara WilliamSen School of Art. I exhibit annually with my gallery in Rome, Italy, and in the Swiss Art Expo as well as other online exhibitions. This year I was invited to join Le Galeriste in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. On this website, I am creating unique artworks that are then placed on clothing designs of my choice.

This is so much fun and the clothing products are really a great new voice for my artwork! In January 2021, I sent out my poem Kindness to many friends around the world and the people at the Philadelphia Arts Connector in the U.S.A. requested my permission and then set my poem to music and then added my artworks and included this in their event WHEN MUSES SPEAK THE WORLD LISTENS.

It is on Youtube and I am so honored. I was able to address the public at the end of this video and share my feelings about how much I wish everyone well in our troubled times. I have also started a non-profit organization; The Kindness Connection. I am delighted that we are gaining members from around the world who share their experiences of kindness! It makes me very happy to share this way.

Which is your favorite book and why?

Do not have a favorite! Sorry, I love all types of books!

Interviewed by- Yashika Khanna published in online international magazine EATMYNEWS January 2022..