Friday, July 10, 2009

Featured Artist Friday: Laura Frankstone

Francophile, painter, passionate drawer and travel sketcher

It is only fitting that my first featured, and one of my favorite, artist is Laura Frankstone. It is, afterall, how I discovered the world of blogging. While doing a search on another favorite artist, I came across Laura’s blog, Laurelines. At the time, I had never heard the term “blog”, but was enamored the minute I found Laurelines. I went back and read every post she had posted prior to that day. I fell in love with her loose, fluid style immediately.

That was almost three years ago. Since then I have been following Laura as she travels the world -- sketching and painting and telling the story as she goes. I love seeing the world through her eyes.

Her travel sketchbooks are a large part of her life. She is a painter and a passionate travel sketcher, but trained, at universities, in oils. She took up watercolors as a way to make exciting travel sketches.
In 2007 Laura's travel sketchbooks were exhibited at the Biennale du Carnet de Voyage at Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Laura said, in an interview on The Artful Parent, “About three years ago, I turned away from painting to devote myself to drawing, to keeping sketchbooks and travel journals. I was stuck in the studio and needed new energy. I also started my blog Laurelines at that point. I work best within rather narrow parameters, so that first year I set myself a plan to immerse myself in the study of color. I devoted six weeks to each color in the spectrum and kept daily sketchbooks dealing with those colors. The second year, my goal was to become completely fluent in drawing. I divided the year up into twelve themes and drew within those themes every day of each month. Part of my plan that year was to spend a whole month in Paris, sketching—and I did! Last year, I gave myself a more free-ranging set of goals, but I was no less assiduous."



Last year her central theme, both metaphorically and literally, was her search for water. She continues her focus on watery painting this year, with a month long trip planned to Brittany.
She is also illustrating a food lovers guide to her area,


has done some wedding sketching for a friend, and has many more exciting things to share with us this year.


As Twyla Tharp said, “You don’t get in the mood to create --- it’s discipline." Laura’s discipline is something I truly admire and respect about her as an artist. “I don’t believe in waiting for moments of inspiration. Inspiration comes as you work.”, says Laura. Insisting on discipline and orderliness in my own work, it is a quality I appreciate intensely.

I am indebted to Laura for the influence she has had on me unknowingly. Not only have I started my own blog, but she has inspired me to start painting and sketching again (after being mostly self-taught) and has me energized with the idea of wedding sketching, as something fun and exciting to offer to my wedding clients. Wanting more professional training, I have signed up for several watercolor classes over the next year and a half. Maybe I will be brave enough to post some of my work someday soon.
I commissioned Laura to paint the front window of my stationery shop. I am planning to meet her, for the first time, when she visits Asheville in August!

There are so many more favorite sketches and paintings than I can possibly begin to share with you here, so you must visit her at Laurelines to see more. I promise it will be worth the visit!! Please check out her 101 faces. Laura does the most soulful eyes I have ever seen.

Laura Frankstone has one of the most fascinating lives of anyone I know. I live vicariously through her and cannot wait to see where she will take us next!

14 comments:

  1. Some great representative pieces of Laura's fine work! Lovely tribute!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dana,
    This post is truly enlightening and inspirational!
    Beautiful.
    Beautiful.
    Beautiful.
    Thank you for the introduction to another amazing artist~
    xox's
    Janet

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much, Dana, for such a lovely profile. Of course, you have paid me SUCH compliments, which is very nice---and it's fun for me to look back over work that spans about a four year period! Your blog is beautiful---I'm sure it's going to develop a robust readership! I finally posted about this article on my blog today, btw!

    ReplyDelete
  4. As someone else deeply influenced by Laura and her wonderful blog, I can only say Well said, I agree wholeheartedly! If ever I'm feeling slack and uninspired, I only have to go and cruise around Laurelines for a shot of creative energy. All the best with Ginger Parasol - it looks well worth revisiting!...

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a glowing - and altogether fitting! - tribute to Laura's work. I have long been an admirer of hers, but you express that admiration so eloquently.

    I found your Blog through a link from hers and I plan to visit more often. You have a very nice Blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love your blog and hearing about Laura! -- She's a powerhouse of creativity -- I'd love to see the window she's painting for you when it's finished!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I found your blog through Laura's, and I must say what a lovely tribute you wrote for Laura and her beautiful work. I learned quite a few things and saw some drawings I must've missed on Laura's scrumptious site. Thank you very much for sharing what you know about such a talented and kind woman.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a wonderful tribute to one of my personal favorites on the web. She has inspired me as well.
    Congratulations on the new blog - I'll be back to visit often.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Laura's inspires lots of people, I am proudly on that list as well. Your blog is off to a fine start, I'll be back to check on the weddings, and hopefully a sketch or two of yours.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a lovely feature on Laura! So glad to "meet " you - I'm looking forward to checking in here often!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you all for stopping by and leaving your comments! It is great to meet new artists.

    ReplyDelete
  12. She's awsome and inspiring! What a wonderful spread of Laura's work.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousJuly 20, 2009

    Yes, I, too, read Laura's blog and I came here from her link.
    Now, the "Parasol" is on my list.Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your blog is very informative and beautiful. This post is awesome. I too am a huge fan of Laura Frankstone. She is an amazing artist with such an inspiring and creative, and very disciplined life. I so admire her. Thanks so much for this post. Look forward to the next one!

    ReplyDelete