Meet Lara Kempke | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lara Kempke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lara, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
This is a big question for me…I never, EVER thought of myself as brave or a risk-taker. If anything, for most of my life I thought I was a pretty fearful person. So it has been in my art that I first began taking risks. At the beginning, just calling myself an artist felt risky–the audacity! No art degree, no credentials. Who did I think I was?

But once I owned that as my identity, I started taking risks often. I had many crazy new ideas, and began acting on them. First, it was starting my own business; then painting on unconventional surfaces but still calling it fine art, and not craft. Then fighting to be recognized by galleries who didn’t know how to classify me. I decided to add sculpting to my work with zero training, just jumped in and figured it out. Branching out from my comfortable base in Orange County and venturing into the Los Angeles art scene, finding an agent, aiming higher. And most recently recruiting my artist friends and opening a pop-up gallery. These are all insanely bold steps for me. And I have found, crazily enough, that being bold and taking risks in my art has seeped into the rest of my life, and given me courage to take risks in all aspects of my life. So much so that my new motto has become “Sounds scary. Let’s do it!”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My path to art was neither linear nor smooth, and it’s taken me 50 years to be able to make sense of the trajectory. I grew up in a very musical family, and discovered that I could sing pretty early in life. So music seemed like where my life would take me. For awhile I thought I was Broadway-bound! I also discovered I could write, that finding the exact words to convey an idea was so satisfying, and people liked to read what I wrote so….maybe I’d be a writer? Meanwhile, I was drawing and doodling and painting and sketching and yet…that was private. Of my three gifts, my art was where I was the least confident, but it lit something in me. But become a professional artist? I never in a million years thought that was my life’s ambition. And yet….when I look back at the music, the English degree, the theater, and the art, what I realize is that I’m a storyteller. THAT is the core of me. It could be in song or in prose, or on a canvas or art on an old violin, but telling a story is what drives me.

Sometimes at the beginning of something new I am just thinking about a project, shuffling through ideas in my brain. I appear to be just staring blankly into space, but inside my brain is looking at different angles, identifying problems, and then figuring out a creative ( and beautiful) way to solve them. Sometimes this takes minutes, sometimes it takes days. As a mostly self-taught artist, I am constantly researching and learning new techniques, materials and approaches. I will get an idea for something wonderful and scary, realize I don’t quite know how to execute it, and deep dive into the internet to find solutions. And then experiment and practice until I can make it work. It’s a slightly headlong approach, but it works for me!

COVID was like a bomb in my life. Being locked down at home showed all the cracks in my marriage, and it crumbled. My art became absolutely essential to me. I poured all my hopes and visions into it. I began experimenting with bolder and brighter colors, and my upcycled instrument idea was born. I think I was trying to literally create a better, more beautiful world. Over time I’ve taught myself to really observe things around me, which means I stop in my tracks a LOT to look at a hawk, the color and texture of a tree, or a crab in a tide pool. It can annoy my kids to no end, but they just accept that Mom’s having a moment! Traveling is also very inspiring to me. Arizona inspired new colors for my palette and a really big-eared jack rabbit; Isla Mujeres, Mexico gave me the astonishing color of the ocean; Maui gave me the sea turtles (honu!) I’m always looking for and struck by the beauty of wherever I am, storing the little details for future use.

It has taken some time, but I’ve been learning how to harness my ADHD brain–I’m one of those “late diagnosed” women. I lean into the hyperfocus when it comes, give myself space to walk away when something isn’t coming together, and drop everything when I get the urge to paint again. I usually have several projects going at once, so that when I hit a wall or get frustrated with one, I can give my brain a break and turn to something else. Usually when I’m consciously focused on something else, my subconscious presents a solution to the first thing. So I’m fluid and very adaptable to when and how I create. But there are some days when I just can’t – when life interferes, or when there’s just nothing in my tank, and I’m learning to honor those days too. I don’t keep track of how long something takes me. When someone asks me, I tell them it took me 54 years. I’ve been working my entire life to be able to create the work I make now. The hours per piece don’t matter to me. I think a lot about what I want my kids to remember, and I want them to know that I went after my passion with everything I had in me. Of course, I would like to become more well-known, have a high-profile show, sell to a celebrity or three… But for now I am content to keep creating art and selling it to people that love it, and for my kids to be proud that I never gave up.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As an Orange County resident, I definitely have favorite Los Angeles destinations like the Pantages and the Getty, and also a wealth of suggestions south of LA!

I love to take friends to Balboa Island, to ride the ferry and get a frozen banana. We might hop over to Fashion Island for some upscale open air shopping, and grab some lunch in the food court or at one of the many restaurants nearby.

One of my favorite places to visit nature is Irvine Regional Park, with peacocks wandering the enormous grounds, groves of old growth live oaks, paddle boats, bicycle rentals, and even the OC Zoo featuring native California animals. So many paths and trails, plus pony and train rides! Really a hidden treasure.

My new recent fun discovery is Whoop Axe in Lake Forest—it’s surprisingly fun and satisfying to throw axes as hard as you can at wooden walls! Afterwards we’d head over the Irvine Spectrum to catch a movie, and eat something yummy, maybe at Shake Shack or Fogo de Chao, depending on our mood.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family and friends have been my giant gang of cheerleaders, and I owe so much to their encouragement. Mom and Dad feeding my passion since I was little, pitching in and showing up to every single event and opening.
My son who used to bring me interesting bug specimens to paint and helps me carry heavy things or paint booth walls, and my daughter who is now the first person I ask for feedback on a work in progress.
My friends who first commissioned art from me, which gave me enough of a portfolio to open my first online shop. And who keep buying my art, stay so keenly interested in my journey.
My tribe of artists who are so generous with their knowledge, they teach me and inspire me–I live for those magical moments of zipping ideas back and forth between all our creative brains.

I know for certain I wouldn’t be here without every one of them.

Website: https://www.laraevestudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lara_eve_studio/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lara-kempke-2135a214

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaraEveStudio/

Image Credits
Lara Kempke