Meet Laurel Hoyt | Illustrator of the macabre & beautiful

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laurel Hoyt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laurel, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I have always been a creative, unique person. I’ve been creating for 16+ years now, but only about 4 of those years has been in pursuit of a professional career. All throughout school people would tell me how I couldn’t do it, how I would never be successful as an artist. Part of my goal was to prove them wrong but also to prove that you can be successful doing what you love & what you’re passion in life is. Your purpose is your passion & I am absolutely, incredibly, and fiercely passionate about art.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Eventually I would love to make art my full time gig. Right now I’m working at a greenhouse as well as a vegan restaurant. A lot of my inspiration comes from my connection to plants, living creatures, and the lifecycle they all share. My art encompasses all of these elements with a little renaissance flair. I think that sets me apart. As an artist you need to establish a style of your own, where someone can look at your work and know that it’s yours. Being an artist is not easy. Like I said before I can’t live on art alone right now so having 2 or more jobs is the normal for me. You have to be good at marketing & as an introvert who struggles with talking about herself, marketing does not come easily. The main thing you have to remember is to be persistent and push through those rough moments. Your passion will shine through your pieces and people will notice. Be patient.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For someone visiting Denver I would first take them to some sick food spots. Everyone loves a good pizza and Denver is crawling with great slices. Cart driver, white pie, blue pan. All of these would suffice any foodie. You also have to go shopping in Denver of course, but you wouldn’t find me necessarily in the normal places. We would have to visit a few of my favorite antique and oddity shops, of course. The terrorium shop, heirloom antiques in aurora, or garage sale vintage would be our stops. Lastly, after a long day/week of eating and shopping we have to hit the best bar for a nice cold beer. Horror Bar off of colfax is the place.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There is one person that is the reason I’m still creative and pursuing it with all my heart. My art teacher Laurel Fulton from high school always pushed me to venture into new avenues of creativity, & always taught me that art is more than just a hobby. It’s a lifestyle and I wouldn’t be still making art if it wasn’t for her. She’s a jewelry maker/blacksmith now based out of Georgia now. She deserves all the shoutouts.

Website: Etsy.com/DeathbyArtCreations

Instagram: Deathbyart.creations

Other: Tik Tok: @fairygremlinn