When I first saw some of Vanessa St. Laurent’s artwork, I started to drool. I mean my mouth literally began to water. You see, Vanessa paints pictures of candy. Her work ranges from really fun to surprisingly provocative. I had no idea you could use candy to express such a variety of emotions. I decided to talk with the artist herself to see what she had to say.
Cadence: Why candy art? How did you get started on this path?
Vanessa: I paint candy because I love it. I have been a Candy Addict since I was old enough to taste. I started painting candy in 2005 when I had to choose a single subject that would serve as a source of inspiration for an entire year. I switched topics several times before deciding that the only thing I never seem to get enough of or get tired of is candy. Three years later candy still serves as an endless source of inspiration for me.
C: Tell us a little about how you create your artwork. What medium do you use?
V: All my candy paintings are oil on canvas. The creation process varies from piece to piece. Sometimes it involves building, sketching, or photography but regardless of the main method there is always lots of sampling.
C: Where do you get your inspiration?
V: I can be inspired by almost anything: colors, patterns, the beauty of candy, and all the emotional and psychological issues from my life.
C: I hear you’ve branched out and have created some wearable candy art. Please tell us about the Stride Rite project – how that came about and what you did for them.
V: I originally applied to a Stride Rite job listing for animal artwork because I am always trying to pick up freelance work. I made it down to the final round of candidates for the project but they went with another artist and gave me the “Maybe we’ll call you in the future†spiel. When they called me 5 months later for a candy shoe project I was ecstatic. I painted five sets of candy for them and they used them to generate three super sweet shoe designs for kids. It was a dream come true!
C: How can people learn more about your art?
V: I’ve had shows at everywhere from candy and ice cream shops to galleries. All of the shows are listed on my website. If anyone is interested in any of my artwork I ask that they email me directly. I will be happy to answer any questions anyone has about the artwork or pricing.
Buy Vanessa’s Stride Rite Shoes Online:
Cool art, cool interview!!! This blog rocks!
November 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm