Lauren YS Dreams Up Her Psychedelic Snake Eyes

San Francisco-based artist Lauren YS returns to 1xRUN with her latest edition Snake Eyes as part of the POW! WOW! x 1xRUN 2016 Print Suite! Visualized from a dream, in the words of the artist this piece leans more metaphorically than some her previous work, coagulating with gradients within the freedom provided by the digital medium. Read on to find out more about Snake Eyes and Lauren YS below…

lauren-ys-pow-wow-holding-1xrun-news-01

1xRUN: Tell us a little bit about this piece, anything immediate you would like us to highlight?

Lauren YS: “Snake Eyes” is a piece I created based off of a dream I had.

1x: Was this piece part of a recent theme, series or show that you had? If so how did it fit into that given grouping?

Lauren YS: This piece is a standalone illustration I wanted to complete just for the 1xRUN release. I hadn’t done any digital coloring in a while, and felt that I wanted to explore that again with this drawing since the line work is so complex.

lauren-signing-02



1x: When was this piece created and what materials were used?

Lauren YS: This piece was created mid-January of 2016, it probably took me a full day to do the drawing, and then the next day to complete the coloring process. This was one of the first pieces of 2016! I did a black and white drawing on paper with microns and then colored it digitally.

lauren-ys-snake-eyes-tbd-14x17-1xrun-banner-02



1x: Tell us a little bit about your process and how the idea and execution came about?

Lauren YS: I had this dream in which two little girls were sitting in the desert, and a lot of little spores started growing up out of the ground, like little mushrooms, and then continued to grow up around them, wrapping them in and coagulating into a sort of skull shape. I started drawing up this idea and then decided to add the snake because it felt like it needed something more. That’s how the name came about.

lauren-ys-snake-eyes-tbd-14x17-1xrun-banner2



1x: What do you feel is unique about this piece compared to your other work?

Lauren YS: I like that this piece is a little more metaphorical than some of my recent work. It was also fun to play with gradients and within the freedom provided by the digital medium. I’d like to continue playing with these sort of visual metaphors in my next pieces.

1x: Describe this piece with one gut reaction word.

Lauren YS: Goopy!



1x: What are your expectation this year for POW!WOW! Hawaii?
Lauren YS: That it’s going to be awesome as it always is. And the PW team always does a great job of enhancing the festival every year in various ways, I think they learn a lot each time and work very hard to make sure the experience is incredible every year. I am looking forward to meeting a lot of the artists coming out.

1x: Without giving away too much, what are your plans for your mural out in Honolulu?
Lauren YS: I’m working on a collaborative wall with my friends from the recently conceived NTL crew. I can say that the layout for the mural might have good feng shui.

NTL Cru Wall - Photo by Jose Mertz



1x: Any of the participating artists on this year’s roster that you are excited to see painting?
Lauren YS: I am very excited to meet Audrey Kawasaki and Andrew Hem in person. I have always loved their work and am seriously looking forward to seeing their process and getting to speak with them!



1x: What’s your schedule like after POW!WOW! 2016? Any big shows or events coming up that you’d like to share?

Lauren YS: I’m headed to a country that I’ve always wanted to visit to paint some murals, but I can’t release that info yet! But I just completed a mural in Downtown LA at the Container Yard, which is meant to accompany my piece in the Thinkspace show at the Honolulu Museum of Art. I’m also doing a duo show with one of my art heroes Jim Mahfood– we’re knocking out a bunch of collaborative drawings for that. After that, I have a solo show lined up at my home gallery in Oakland, Athen B. Gallery. I will also have a good amount of merchandise available at the Big Bad Wolf shop in Kaka’ako; shirts, pins and stickers to accompany this print release! Lots of really exciting things lined up. Keep an eye out!

12523194_943675699060585_5891790349999995557_n

1x: Where else can people find you?
Lauren YS: WebsiteInstagram@lolo.ys

– 1xRUN