Leah Bury is an Art of Austin artist! Check out her interview to learn more about her and her work!
Leah Bury
AoA – How long have you been an Austin based artist and how did you find your way here?
Leah – I have lived in Austin for almost two years now! I took some time living at home in Pennsylvania after college to save money and then decided I wanted a change and picked up and moved here because I’d heard great things!
AoA – When did you realize that you were an artist?
Leah – I still struggle with calling myself that! But I’ve been creative my entire life. I’ve had phases of wanting to be a singer, a fashion designer, a visual artist, a writer, basically everything you can think of.
AoA – Can you speak to your art training?
Leah – I have no formal art training outside of high school art classes. I’m self taught, with a lot of help from Google and Youtube.
AoA – Where do you find inspiration?
Leah – Emotions, music, places, nature, bodies.
AoA – What is your work concerned with?
Leah – I do a lot of portraits of women, including a lot of self portraits. This hasn’t necessarily been on purpose, just what I have gravitated towards. I like to do some mixed media incorporating photos I’ve taken while traveling into the art. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with photography and graphic design/typography/playing around in photoshop.
AoA – What are your preferred medium(s)?
Leah – Everything digital. I use Procreate, Photoshop, InDesign, and more.
AoA – Can you talk a little about your creative processes?
Leah – I don’t really have a process, I work more when inspiration strikes. Even in school I used to just write and go with minimal editing. It’s the same way for art. I get an idea, I sit down, and if it is going well, I do the whole piece in 1-2 sessions. I just get really wrapped up into it. A lot of the time I put on a good album and just force myself to create and be moved by it for the duration. And then most times I keep going even after the album is done. But it is a good measure of time to force myself to be fully immersed.
AoA – Do you have any feelings towards Digital Art versus traditional mediums?
Leah – Not really, I mean, I love digital mediums because that’s what I do. But I have so much admiration for people who work in traditional mediums, because I struggle with them! Sometimes I feel insecure about digital mediums not being as “legitimate” but then I remind myself that all forms of creation are valid and different mediums are just different skill sets and forms of expression.
AoA – Who are some artists that you look to?
Leah – I wish I had a good answer for this, but honestly, I don’t have any specific names I follow regularly. I just follow a ton of artists I love on Instagram and get collectively inspired by scrolling down the feed.
AoA – If you could own 1 piece from a living artist, who would it be?
Leah – Oooh. Well, one of my favorite artists is Gregory Euclide. He did the cover art for one of my favorite albums, the self titled Bon Iver album. I would love to own an original piece from him, especially because a lot of his pieces are 3-D which can’t quite come across in a print. But I do have two signed prints from him hanging in my room that are gorgeous!
AoA – Big question. What do you feel the role of art is in the world?
Leah – I don’t know where I stand on the whole religion thing, but I will say that to me art feels like channeling some sort of source/higher being/divine/spirit. It’s almost like there’s this big well of human spirit and energy and nature and force, and art is dipping into it and bringing some of that out into the light. I see art as a great connector, which is what makes it feel almost divine to me, because it taps into some things we can’t put into words, and it also makes people feel seen, connected, and alive.
On a less serious note, I think art is also about having fun and making shit you like.
AoA – What else do you enjoy besides making art?
Leah – I love to read, travel, take solo long road trips (I’ve gone a few times between PA and Texas now), hike and generally spend time in nature, listen to music and attend shows, hang out with my dog, practice yoga, meditate, read my tarot cards, journal, connect with others, the list goes on.
AoA – Any final advice for all the artists reading out there?
Leah – I know creating can seem intimidating, but don’t take it too seriously! Ultimately art is for you, so don’t let it stress you out. Do whatever feels good to you, and share it however you want to.
Also, don’t wait until something feels “perfect”, or you feel “good enough” to make “real art”. You can spend your whole life waiting! Just celebrate where you’re at now and be proud of yourself for creating and being vulnerable with sharing your work (if you choose to do so).
Connect with Leah!