Lauren Ami MacDonald is an artist whose paintings illustrate the inner workings of her mind in hilarious and poignant ways. Her work has been featured in select exhibitions across New South Wales and can be viewed on her website here. Lauren was a copywriter before deciding to pursue art full-time.

Interview by Oli Nicholson

How did you first get into advertising?

I kind of fell into it. At the time I wanted to do art therapy, so was combining a Fine Arts degree with some psychology. I needed to do some work experience illustrating in an agency, and ended up writing some headlines there to help out. They basically said, “You’re good at this, you should do this”. I had always written poetry and stuff, but the thought of writing professionally had never entered my mind.

Did you always know you would do something creative in your career?

No, actually. My dad recently gave me a childhood book I had read to myself back when I was in Year 4. In that, I wrote that when I grow up I wanted to be a teacher, but also write books that I illustrated on the side. I did like being creative, but also liked the idea of nurturing other people. I never fully committed to either!

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How long did you stay in the advertising industry for?

I think I was in advertising for about 7 years in total. When I was beginning I was writing and illustrating, and by the end I was a hybrid art director-writer-person.

What made you want to leave advertising?

I wasn’t happy. I wasn't happy for a long time. I liked the idea of having a stable income, and being able to be creative. I liked the idea of working with lots of creative people and making things. For me, during my last couple of years in advertising, I wasn't feeling the benefits. Things weren't getting made, there were long nights, and it felt like I was kind of banging my head against the wall. It just wasn't fulfilling me creatively.

I had done an exhibition a couple of years ago, back when I was still in advertising, and got a good response from it being almost sold out. It made me think, ‘Why am I not doing this?’ and things became a bit clearer to me through that process.

I dropped back to part-time to pursue art, but quickly felt that wasn’t enough either, so made the snap decision to quit. It made me feel really hopeful and in control.

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What do you do now?

I now make art part-time and take care of kids a couple of days a week, so I have enough income to feed myself and not have to stress about selling work and commercialising it.

Looking back, would you have done anything differently?

If I had wanted to stay in advertising, then yes. I would’ve changed some of the decisions I made in terms of agencies I worked at. I feel like there was something that was never quite right about it for me, and I think that’s because I'm an artist at heart. I don't really want to be told how to do stuff, it’s just not something I can really change about my personality. I also prefer to work alone rather than in a team.

Do you have any tips for people starting out in the industry right now?

Starting out is the best time! It’s all shiny and full of hope, and you’re figuring out what an idea is and how to make it better and learning about anything and everything. It’s a really nice period actually. Go to AWARD School, I feel like every creative should do that. Get people to look at your portfolio and listen to them when they tell you it’s shit. I also think you should showcase your personal work on your website, because it shows that you’re creative because you have to be, not because you’re told to be.