I’ve wanted to do this for a while. A series that puts the spotlight on the women who actually make things for a living — the florists, the ceramicists, the painters, the people whose hands are the tools of their trade. I’m calling it The Makers, and Laura Lois is the first artist to feature.
Laura is a contemporary figurative painter working from her home studio in Mitchelton, Brisbane. Her work is bold and unmistakably hers — strong colour, simplified forms, expressive brushwork, drawn from modernist minimalism and fauvism. But the way that work actually happens is less about discipline and more about theft: stealing pockets of time wherever they appear.
“A day in the life is me chasing my toddlers,” she told me. “There’s not a lot of studio time right now.”
Where the ideas come from
Laura is drawn to nostalgia — specifically, the kind that pulls from her own childhood in the ’90s. A photograph found on Pinterest or Instagram will sit with her for weeks before it turns into anything.
“I’ll save it and then mull over it for a couple of weeks,” she says. “And then all of a sudden I’m like, all right, I’m painting ten paintings. It just kind of evolves from there.”
Colour works the same way — one shade takes hold and moves through an entire body of work. Right now, it’s Australian blue gum. “I’m using it throughout the whole collection, in lots of different pieces, lots of different ways.”
Once a colour has her attention, the real satisfaction is in what comes next. “I love the problem-solving element of it,” she says. “What kind of colour is going to complement that? This orangey red, for instance — I love it. I really enjoy when a colour palette comes together. It’s like a fun maths problem, in a way, even though I hated maths. That’s probably my favourite part.”
Knowing herself through the work
Ask Laura what she’s learned about herself through painting, and she doesn’t hesitate: she’s impulsive.
“I might have an idea and that night I need to create it,” she says. “If I slept on it for a week, I’d probably be bored of that idea.” It’s not always a comfortable thing to notice about yourself, she admits — but it’s true, and it’s part of how the work gets made. New ideas arrive constantly, and the wanting to create doesn’t let up. As she puts it, the idea is the fuel for the fire.
Even colour choice isn’t purely instinct. “I’ve got a funny answer and a real answer,” she laughs. “Often it’s what’s on sale, so that becomes the colour I paint in. But it’s also wise to look at what’s on trend.” To build a career from art, she says, following some of those trends is part of the deal — using or being inspired by what’s resonating, and building a palette around it.
The reality behind the studio
Most nights, once Laura’s two young daughters are asleep, she paints. Sometimes that’s in a makeshift studio set up in the laundry. When she can get there, it’s a loft-style space with better light. Neither is the romantic version of a studio you might picture. Both are where the work gets made.
“It’s kind of like, oh great, they’re having a snack — quickly, let’s go prep a canvas,” she says. “I’ll paint the background while they’re distracted, and then I can go back to it. It’s the juggle.”
The part that makes it worth it
For all the problem-solving and colour theory, Laura’s favourite part of the process has nothing to do with paint.
“It’s been a journey to create a piece exactly how I had it in my mind,” she says. “Maybe fifty per cent of the time I can execute it how I wanted.” But when a finished piece sells, and the person who bought it comes to collect it — genuinely obsessed with it, already picturing where it’ll hang, maybe because it reminded them of a childhood memory or a holiday — that’s the moment. “Favourite feeling ever. It’s so nice. Makes everything worth it.”
And how does she know when a piece is actually finished? “When I’ve gone too far, and I’ve been like, oh, I shouldn’t have done that. Then I know it’s finished.”
This is exactly why I wanted to start The Makers. Not the polished, curated version of what it looks like to be a working artist — the real one. Laundry-room studios. Stolen pockets of time between snacks and bedtime. Chasing a colour because you’re a little obsessed with it. That’s the version that felt worth telling.
You can follow Laura’s work at @laura.jessie.lois. And keep an eye out — more Makers are coming.
Laura is wearing the Charlie Overalls in Natural and Slate throughout the shoot. Shop the Charlie Overalls.
The Makers is a joint series between Geneva Vanderzeil and Collective Gen, celebrating the women who make for a living.
