Art by Katie Laws

  My style is majorly influenced by illustrators like Quentin Blake and Shel Silverstein as well as artists like Van Gogh. The thing their work has in common is that it might be considered sloppy or “imperfect.” I love imperfect art, where you can see the messy bits and the work is praised for it’s wild, raw emotion. It’s how I live my life, messy and wild, with bursts of tears and laughter. That's how I've survived the harsh reality of life and learned to bloom in the desert.

Consciousness is a cycle of birth, life, death and renewal. My work explores these ideas through color. Neon represents hope that each painting starts with. Black lines represent sorrows that have shaped the adult I have become. Contrasting and vibrant color represents the busy, joyful life I lead. And dark colors are the difficulties life throws at you. But even in dark times, hope peeks through, and by persevering with positivity I've learned to bloom in the desert.

There is a lot of negativity in the world. It's easy to allow your dark days to pull you down. It's even understandable that the difficulties of your childhood could twist you into something ugly. But I've chosen to scrape through the layers and allow hope to shine through. I don't ignore difficulty or avoid problems. I use them to inform how I live. I use fear and sorrow as a catalyst to choose life, joy, abundance, and peace. Through art, meditation, and introspective tarot I have earned peace.