Having spent only a decade painting, Canadian Laurie Masters is a promising talent in the realm of contemporary portraiture. Her work heavily references popular culture and the screen, with the biggest musicians and actors getting the Masters treatment. It is only recently that Laurie's work has gained exposureand an influx of international fans and admirers after being featured on American television programmes such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Laurie has kindly agreed to indulge us in the most intriguing aspects of her practice, and how everything’s evolved over the last ten years for herself as an all round creative mind and cultural illustrator.

As a practitioner, Masters reveals that her inspiration comes from various art forms: "Starting out as a musician myself, music has made a very big impact on my work. My first painting was an abstract of Radiohead's Thom Yorke. I think musicians convey emotion on a very high level in their work and I wanted to bring that same emotion out in my paintings". Laurie is also fired up by interpreting expression in the faces of the famous, revealing her interest for portraiture is from "the emotion people portray in the face and in particular the eyes. I think it's been musicians more than any particular person or painter that has influenced my work". She also goes on to reveal that she is "fascinated by what can be portrayed in the way a person looks: what their eyes portray, how their mouth turns, the position of a head and body. Little changes in all those features can change an emotion in a portrait completely".
 

Masters' works have also been inspired by renowned cultural figures and celebrities. she said: "I listen to music constantly and attend various concerts, but I' am also a film buff, and find a lot of inspiration there". Laurie also frequently visits as many local, national and international art openings. "I recently went to a pop art exhibition in Ottawa, highlighting the works of Andy Warhol, and I came home even more inspired than I had ever felt before. It was a wonderful, exhilarating feeling, actually. I love feeling that way after seeing great art! It makes me want to never put down my brush". And highly inspirational exhibitions like these are clearly reflected in Laurie's work, as echos of Warhol's admiration of the stars shines through.

 After receiving welcome praise and feedback from her evolving fanbase (including no other than Simon Pegg, alongside a vast array of people in the entertainment industry), Masters is confident she's going in the right direction. "I am just going to keep on the path that I have created for myself and see where it leads. I like the unknown and embrace it. I will always strive to improve and to search for new, exciting subjects, and techniques. I want art to be my life. I want to be able to make my living at this, because this is what truly makes me happy and gives me pride and purpose. Having people embrace me and my work. It's the icing on the cake".

You can browse through extensive galleries of Laurie's work on http://www.theartoflam.com/ or search for her on Facebook and Twitter.