When someone thinks of art, they probably have in mind elaborate, classic pieces fit for multi-million dollar display galleries or maybe abstract modern designs that the brain has difficulty understanding. There is more to art than just this, however, and quite a bit more to visual art.

When you look at a cartoon, see an advertisement in a magazine, or are merely bumbling through the internet’s endless stream of photos, you must remember that someone made that. Someone spent time and energy to create that graphic or image. Likewise, we must remember who creates pinups, as they are a large part of art’s history and it’s future.

For some, sexually appealing images have a value that is multifascited and helps to explain our world as well as the people in it. For others, it’s something to simply gawk at. The bottom line for most artists, however, is will sell and help me to survive? Well, as you may have guessed, sex does, in fact, sell, and artists are finding new ways to convey it. Laurie B is one such artist.

Laurie is able to mix cute with sexy, whether with different characters in the same panel or even with a single character. From the information I can find online about her, she must be a fairly modest person, not wanting to flaunt her personality or work, too much. Her humility, however, will not be on display here as I fully intend to showcase a few of her pieces. Here’s a sample of her “about me” from ArtofLaurieB.com:

Once upon a time, Disney aired a documentary about Feature Animation. I was shocked to discover that Goofy was not a real actor in some 2-dimensional world too expensive for our family to travel to on summer vacation. Still, I watched in awe as the animators flipped pages at their desk and made their drawings move. Sheer magic. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to be an animator. I was 12 years old.

I always loved to draw, and have been drawing for longer than I can remember, but growing up on a farm in Alberta, Canada, I was a long way off from my career goals. There wasn’t anyone I could ask about it or job shadow for a day, no books at the library, and certainly no studios even remotely close by. I owned a single animated film on VHS – a copy of Disney’s Robin Hood – so I began there, freeze-framing through it all, and filling my sketchbook.

fter I finished high school I began searching more aggressively for a career in the animation industry. Every lead told me that a 2-year foundation in the arts was the first step. I enrolled at Red Deer College in the Fine Arts Program and began to develop a more sophisticated skill-set, all the while researching and honing my cartooning and animation skills. In 1996, after 2 years of study, I had earned my diploma, but I enjoyed the education experience so much that I studied for a 3rd year! Life Drawing was indispensable as was Art History, and I excelled at Sculpture. I was headed toward a BFA, and it was a blast…But it wasn’t animation.

Nearing the end of 3rd year, I discovered a new multimedia/animation school opening in Calgary and enrolled right away. Unfortunately, it didn’t teach me much of anything that I hadn’t already taught myself in my own self-studies. It did, however, land me an internship with a local graphic design company. It was while working there that I met Kandrix Foong, the man I would marry, and the rest, as they say, is history! Or at very least, history in the making! Within the year, we had both parted from that company and formed our own – KONsequential Studios – in 2001. We co-created and produced the 8-issue comic book mini-series A Monk’s Tale and began travelling the comic convention circuit, exhibiting and networking. Throughout the duration of producing the mini-series, I freelanced; teaching art and animation fundamentals. Over the course of the next 7 years I found myself instructing in a range of settings, from government-funded community programs to independent filmmakers’ organizations to university campuses.

As A Monk’s Tale wrapped up, we were searching for the next idea to develop. In 2008, I launched “Pure Heroine” – a compilation of various female characters as pinup models. The title quickly gained a large fan base, and continues to grow! Kandrix began managing my career which led to a variety of new opportunities, gigs, and collaborations with other creators and studios. Included on the roster of clients are Top Cow Productions, Paul Dini’s “Dini Cartoons”, Nickelodeon and Topps Trading Cards, as well as numerous others that remain in development.

I currently work from home, freelancing on both industry and independent properties as well as traveling the convention circuit. We continue to call Calgary home.

View Laurie’s gallery, here.