In the Artwork Spotlight series of blog posts, The Layered Onion highlights a specific work by an artist in the community. These works could range from short stories to visual art, music, and more!
Today, Clara Christensen (she/her) will be sharing several images from her “Space Lava Lamp.” Before we delve into the art, a little more about Clara in her own words:
Hi, I’m Clara, a graphic artist. I have been doing graphic/digital art for about 6 years now, and have been mostly influenced by pop art. I am usually shy, so being able to use my creativity to express myself has been beneficial.
Clara Christensen, Space Lava Lamp 1, 2, and 3. Digital Art (Illustrator). February 2022.
Clara participated in a Q&A with The Layered Onion, expanding further on the piece:
How would you describe your artistic style?
My artistic style is mainly from pop art, and I added my own spin of using no black outlines and adding gradients to create a more clean, light look.
What is your favorite part about art?
My favorite part about art is being able to visually share my ideas and concepts that I would have otherwise struggled to explain in words. It’s like a window into my mind and creative ideas.
Where did you get your inspiration for this piece?
I was originally inspired by Roy Liechtenstein, a pop artist who used many contrasting colors to make certain parts of his pieces pop. I was also inspired by retro posters from the 50s-60s, when they were trying to promote space travel. I then added my own spin with concepts of how lava lamps appear weightless and fluid to add to the piece.
You use contrasting colors of orange and blue that catch the eye. What led you to these colors?
I was mainly inspired by how space contains a lot of cool colors, and lava lamps are usually warmer colors. I landed on blue and orange as good contrasting colors for this piece to help establish foreground and background as well.
Talk a little about the panels. How does that work for this piece?
I have always loved the idea of having multiple pieces of art that could make up one giant piece when placed together, but could also stand on their own. I also feel like with this particular piece, you could rearrange the panels out of order and it would still look nice next to each other. This began as an experiment with that idea, and I ended up loving it, and plan on having multiple panels for my art in the future.
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You can see more of Clara’s work on her Instagram @claradianedesign or in her portfolio. Go check it out!