Little Trace Of // Laith McGregor.

I’ve been a huge fan of Australian artist Laith McGregor ever since I featured his work back in the early days of this blog. Laith’s engaging Biro drawings elevate the status of the humble Bic pen, and his beautiful mixed media works and oil-paintings are equally as mesmerising. I particularly love the way Laith executes his pieces with intricate precision and meticulous attention to detail, rendering them with both real and surreal qualities.

In 2007, Laith obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne. The following year he won the Robert Jacks Drawing Prize at the Bendigo Regional Art Gallery. In 2009 he was awarded an Emerging Artist New Work Grant by Australia Council for the Arts and was the Queensland recipient of the 2009 QANTAS Foundation Encouragement of Australian Contemporary Art Award. Seriously impressive stuff, no? Laith is currently gallivanting around New York City visiting galleries, before he heads off to Barcelona for a 3 month residency through the Australian Arts Council.

Featured Work // Laith’s most recent drawings and paintings, courtesy of Sullivan+Strumpf Gallery in Sydney.

Why Laith Rocks // Apart from being ridiculously talented, Laith is one of the most organised and diligent artists I’ve ever dealt with. He jumped on this interview and got back to me in record time, supplying me with all the information I needed and then some. Legend! By the way, it seriously broke my heart having to reduce Laith’s amazing work to a size that fit the blog. I urge all of you to look at a larger format of his work via the image gallery at the bottom of this post. Do it!

Below is a little Q&A with the artist.

‘Drunken Boat’ 2012 // Oil on linen // 183 x 274.5cm.

+ What is the main driver / source of inspiration behind your work – i.e do you work to a specific brief, a particular concept, your favorite song or a book etc?

That’s actually a really hard question. To put it simply, I feel a need to be doing work everyday. My ideas have flowed consistently and quite naturally from when I left Art School. They’ve snowballed into what you see now. I’m always working on new ideas and subject matter. I get inspired mainly by travel, good art, books and film.

‘Pong Ping Paradise’ (bottom detail), 2012 // Mixed media on paper with table tennis table, glass & net // 274 x 153cm.

+ What do you love the most about what you do?

I love that I’m able to be making art everyday. There’s nothing better than doing what you love. To wake up, do yoga, read and make the way to the studio at my own pace is amazing. I feel blessed everyday.

‘Negro Marfil Island (After Wyeth)’ 2012 // Oil on linen // 183 x 168.5cm.

+ The biggest lesson you learned along the way? Did you make any mistakes? Would you have done anything differently?

I think I’m still learning really, one should never have any regrets, life’s to short to deliberate on what you should have and could have done. I have learnt to work slower though, to consider every part of the project as being as important as the next.

+ Any other interesting/ funny/ quirky facts about your work you could share with us?

Most people don’t know that a lot of my work comes from dreams. I love that the work can become intuitive and work on a very instinctual level. Trusting oneself is a very important attribute. My dreams are pretty wacky, I have to edit selectively.

‘The European’ (detail), 2010 // Biro and pencil on paper // 150 x 115cm.

+ Best piece of advice you’ve been given?

John Campbell once told me ‘…if you ever get stuck or can’t think of anything to work on, just go back to basics and pick up a pencil and draw.’ I’ve always maintained that principle and it works. Sometimes over thinking can be stagnant too.

‘Lost at Sea’ (detail), 2012 // Biro on paper // 160 x 122cm.

+ If you were not an artist, what would you be?

A filmmaker. I’d love to make a feature film one day. But I guess that’s still being an Artist in some way, so maybe a Dolphin Trainer.

+ Nothing inspires me like…

Looking at great Art in the flesh.

Left // ‘Untitled (Swami 1)’ 2011 // Biro, pencil & perforations on paper // 102.5 x 65.5 cm.
Right // ‘Vielen dank, meine Damen und Herren!’ 2011 // Pencil and biro on paper // 195cm x 150cm.

+ I am really good at…