For illustrator Laura Supnik, her interest in art began at an early age. “I took classes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art when I was six years old,” she explains. “We sat in front of a Picasso painting discussing how people can see one another differently, and I knew right there that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else with my life.” Currently studying fashion business in New York City, when she’s not dog watching Supnik creates dainty illustrations that have took the Internet by storm. “I carry around a small journal and constantly fill it up with sketches and words, so most of my drawings are pretty tiny and fragile looking. I draw a lot of flowers and portraits of people,” she says. “I like drawing very normal things and then putting a twist on it. Like a person with flowers growing out of a hole in their head for example. Something normal, but slightly off. I always get told, “Your art is very Wes Anderson-y!” which is extremely flattering, I love his movies.”
“I carry around a small journal and constantly fill it up with sketches and words, so most of my drawings are pretty tiny and fragile looking.” Alongside finding fans in over 10,000 Instagram users, Supnik’s work has also caught the attention of fashion site Man Repeller and Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter. “It’s really crazy. Like the piece I illustrated for Lenny Letter was accompanying an essay written by Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches. I love that band, and it’s sort of a rush to know that someone you look up to has seen your art. And then having people you don’t know tell you how much they love your work!” she recalls.
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“That is all I’ve ever wanted to get out of creating art, having people relate to my work or be inspired by it. It makes me so happy every single time someone says something positive about what I do.” Having moved to Manhattan from Pennsylvania, Laura considers the city a massive source of inspiration for her work. “I’m a big believer in looking for inspiration everywhere I go, but New York specifically is so special. I love the diversity here. In people, in buildings, in everything. I love the old with the new and the opportunity that exists in between them. Everyone here is doing their own thing too, so it’s great to be surrounded by people who think completely opposite of the way I do, or maybe even think the same.” She also looks up to other illustrators including Rebecca Green, Leah Goren, Maria Herreros and Julia Rothman. “[Julia] has this book, which is literally just filled with illustrations of things in New York City and it’s amazing. She paints scenes that I appreciate and notice as well, but her take on it is so fun. Like certain things I sometimes don’t think other people seem to take note of, but she does. For example, a bodega on the side of the road or a pigeon. She uses a lot of bright colors and lines, and it’s wonderful.” So what’s next for Supnik? “I don’t know actually. Recently I’ve decided I want to move to the west coast after graduation, but that could change in a couple months. I just want to be traveling a lot in my upcoming years, seeing new things and meeting new people. I have no idea, but it’s sort of fun not knowing.”
