Laura McKellar Pays Homage to Nature Through Her Work

Scrolling through Laura McKellar’s Instagram page, two things become apparent straight away: first, her knack for all things creative; second, her love of nature.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, McKellar found a way to combine her passions through her work as a graphic designer and illustrator. A lot of her projects feature naturalistic elements: elements like floral patterns and cartoon-like animals.

“I grew up watching Disney and more recently Studio Ghibli and reading picture books like Beatrix Potter stories,” shared McKellar in an interview with Pikaland

She then explained that these cultural references influence her chosen subjects and themes. These themes include “anthropomorphism (animals adopting human characteristics), humans with animal features and human interacting with animals.”

“I am very interested in the relationship and I very strongly believe animals should be given a voice,” she adds. “This is the reason I express these concepts in my work. It does make me smile looking at an illustration of a hare wearing a cable knit jumper or a gorgeous girl with a birds nest for hair!”

While most of her work requires a more functional approach (projects that include art direction, print, packaging, branding, and lettering), McKellar allows herself some room for experimentation with her personal projects. These projects might incorporate other mediums like embroidery, watercolors, and collage work.

Follow her on Instagram for more!