Lau showcases talent by selling artwork (Q&A)

Art has been a part of our world since the beginning of time. For Jasmine Lau, a Coppell High School sophomore, it became a way for her to share her talents with the world. She explains how selling her artwork has affected her life.

How long have you been selling your artwork?

The first time someone offered me a value for my art was when I was 11 years old and the editor of the Citizens’ Advocate used my artwork in her newspaper.  She frequently requested some more pieces after seeing me in often pop up in her stories and in other media, and I’ve sent some other drawings her way.  The reason I say that I do not constantly sell my art because I barely have time aside from school and my extracurriculars to create something that my buyers would want.  So, there is no set period when I’ve been selling my artwork, but I have always been open to offers and I would show my digital portfolio to many people who would potentially be interested in my art.

What kind of artwork do you sell?

I sell many types of artwork and it all depends on who my customer is.  For now, I deal with my artwork directly, person-to-person, so most of the time I sell what I already have in my portfolio, which ranges from drawings, to paintings, and even sculptures. They can also request something personalized, which is usually some form of drawing or 2-D work because specific artwork usually comes with a time crunch.  Most of the artwork that I actually sell are my drawings and oil pastel pieces because I love working with pastel and they tend to look nicer in the end with all the vibrant colors.

What inspired you to start to sell your artwork?

Originally, instead of selling my artwork, I would gift my paintings or drawings to close friends as an item to remember me by. A close family friend of mine is actually an artist and he sells his artwork for thousands per piece.  My dad does photography so once he came over to our studio and we took pictures of all his artwork for his digital portfolio.  And in the end instead of paying in bills, he presented us a painting that I chose as a thank you for helping him. Since then I’ve admired how he sells his art for so much and has people interested in his work so easily.  It never occurred to me as something I could benefit out of, but people have always complimented my artwork and they’d end up saying “I would buy that!”  Usually, I take that as flatter, but then I realized that many people would actually buy them.  So since then, instead of pretending what people say as an appraisal, I take up their offer and we secretly deal something.

How long have you had a passion for art?

Oh, I don’t quite remember how long I’ve had a passion for art.  I’d like to say forever because you don’t have to be amazing at art in order to have a passion for it.  I’ve always had an eye for physically attractive things, whether that be the interiors of a room, the color schemes on a poster, or even the way someone dresses.  I think my passion of art started when I was a little girl and watched too many princess movies that I wanted to have my own dress.  Of course I’ve got to have my own style so I doodled in my journal every single fairy tale dress that I would want to wear if I ever am able to design one.  From there, I doodled everything, from trees, to people, to clothes, to scenery.  My favorite thing to sketch out were buildings and beautiful architecture always fascinates me.  You could say that I’ve had a passion for art since I was born, but I’ve had different phases in which my admiration for art were focused on different genres, like I said drawing, fashion, architecture, etc.

What goals do you have considering this business?

I know it kind of breaks many people’s hearts when I say I don’t want to do art in my future.  I do see my passion for art and my eye for design being incorporated in my future.  I don’t know what I want to be yet, but I’ve had dreams of having every single job in the world.  As of now I want to study global relationships and maybe even astrophysics in college, but who knows where I’d end up.  I’ve also always wanted to be a fashion designer, interior designer, and even an architect.  Right now, I’m just slowly making all those dreams come true. I’m also interested in fashion and am hoping to have a photoshoot later this summer with costume makeup and all.  That will be fun, and designing would probably also be a giant hobby, but it would be interesting if I actually turn up with a line of clothes.  I’d also like designing in generally, from television ads, to posters, to recreational plazas.  

Where do you hope this will take you in the future?

College.  I really hope that besides my academics and extracurriculars that my dream colleges would recognize my artistic skills as a unique talent that is hard to find.  Just so you know, I’m shooting high for the harder-to-get-into colleges.  Since I’m not looking to get into an art college, I do wish that my choices would offer me some scholarships to attend their school with a double major in some form of art or design.  In the meantime, I also hope to be more acknowledgeable in the art world and wish to have my art in display in galleries or fairs. Having some of my pieces in the Slant Art Gallery as a class assignment for Spanish also gave me an opportunity to sell some of my artwork. Also, in the future, art may be the only thing that won’t be replaceable by computers and technology. Only humans know what humans feel in their heart, and art and other forms of art such as music and literature may be the most humane things the world has to offer.