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Meet Laura Airey Le of Gray Ghost Creations in Lakewood

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Airey Le.

Laura Airey, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have been drawing since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I have always enjoyed how relaxing and tranquil it is to create art. Since I was younger, I have always been drawn to wildlife art. Always drawing animals and nature. I remember in High School, I almost flunked out of one of my art classes. I was told, “draw your self-portrait.” That wasn’t my thing, so I would rush through that so I could start my fallow deer drawing. One day my teacher saw all my wildlife side art and said: “why have you not been drawing like this all along?” I told her “because I love drawing animals and wildlife.” After that, she told me to draw more animals.

Over the years I have been drawn to the strange and unusual wildlife. I love snakes, spiders, lizards, ext. All of the less loved and misunderstood animals. To me, they can be some of the most beautiful animals out there. When someone thinks of a tarantula, usually the first thing that comes to their mind is a brown spider. There are so many tarantulas that are every color of the rainbow. We just need to get a bit out of our comfort zone to see the beauty. (Don’t get me wrong, I find brown tarantulas absolutely beautiful as well!)

I also love the different African species, especially some of the lesser-known antelope.

A few of the places I have worked in the past really influenced my art. I briefly worked at a reptile shop. It was where I could really see the true beauty of some of the world’s strangest animals.

I also worked at a Native American Trading Company. I grew a strong appreciation for Native American Art and Culture.

From a young age, I loved working with colored pencils. For a while, I worked with pastels, watercolors, and acrylics, but I always had to mix some colored pencils into it. Over the last many years, I have been able to refine my colored pencil techniques. Pretty much all my drawings now are 90% colored pencils with maybe a touch of inks or acrylics. I still have a lot to learn and hope to continue growing and learning.

Another thing I have been working with a lot lately is skull art. Real skulls that I have inked or painting wildlife on to. I usually work with coyote, fox, or sheep skulls. Once where I can get the skull and know that most the other parts have been used. I really believe in not wasting any part of the animal.

My husband and my dad are two of my biggest supporters. It’s wonderful to have family members that care and help you through all of the obstacles that come with being an artist.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the biggest struggles is the struggle for more time. It’s not always easy balancing life with art. I currently work 40+ hours per week as a dental technician. I am a ceramist and make porcelain dentures and stain and glaze teeth. I enjoy my really job, I get to be artistic at it, but by the time I get home from work and do all of life’s other chores, sometimes its tough to find extra time for art.

We’d love to hear more about your art.
My business is Gray Ghost Creations. I get the name from the African Kudu. It’s a majestic large antelope that many people call the gray ghost because it is so illusive and hard to spot. I thought this would work perfectly for me. I love African antelope, and I also love strange and unusual wildlife and nature.

I seem to be more well known for my tarantula art. Its something most people don’t seem to draw. Spiders are so beautiful, and if I can help people see how beautiful they are, then I am doing my job. I have had people come up to me at shows and pick up my “Purplebloom” tarantula print. They come to me and say “I hate tarantulas and spiders, but I love this and how beautiful it is.” They put it up and have a renewed appreciation for the insect world. Another thing I am known for is traditional art. In this world of technology, there are less traditional artists and more digital artists. Don’t get me wrong, I love digital art and have some of my favorite digital artists art up on my walls, but personally, I would much rather draw with my colored pencils than sit with a tablet all day. I specialize in colored pencils, and I specialize in strange and unusual wildlife.

I am a work from home artist, but I do travel around to local craft fairs and trade shows, I am pretty much always at the local Reptile Expo that comes every few months. This year alone I did about 8 local to Denver shows. I have a great time doing them, sharing my art and meeting new people.

Last year I wrote a coloring book. “The New World Tarantula Coloring Book.” I fully illustrated, wrote, and published it. I plan on doing the New World Tarantula Coloring Book very soon.

Also the last few years I have begun making jewelry of my art. I have several wooden pieces as well as hand made and hand-beaded pieces I have made.

Now that we are in the realm of the holidays, I started making Christmas ornaments as well.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was always the tomboy. I never wanted to wear dresses and was always ready to go play in the mud. I have always loved nature.

One of my favorite things to do are nature hikes, especially around deserts. Desert terrain has always been my favorite. It’s so beautiful with all the sage, cactus, ext. We have some great trails next to Denver, Mt. Falcon is a beautiful steep trail that walks you through great cactus country.

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Image Credit:
Laura Airey Le

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