How Lainey Molnar Uses Her Art To Fight Stigmatization Of Choice
How did your career in art begin?
I've been drawing since I was a little kid and received professional art education for a while, but it never seemed reasonable to aim for it as a career. After 12 years of being self-employed and exploring several paths around fashion and social media, I started creating my now-signature illustrations while in lockdown in 2020. It only took a few months for them to go viral, and the rest is history. It's still unbelievable to say that I am a full time artist, but it feels like my entire life has led up to this point.
What inspires your work?
Mostly I use my experience as a woman in the world, but my audience is so diverse, and the conversation so open that I started to explore broader or less personal topics too. My goal is to fight judgement and to end stigmatization of choice, I believe that as long as life decisions don't hurt anyone, they are simply personal instead of being right or wrong. Body positivity, sex positivity, anti-bigotism, LGBTQ+ rights, and safety of womxn bodies are my main topics of conversation, but I like to keep a personal and lighter note throughout.
In what ways do you push yourself to keep growing as an artist?
Before I started posting my illustrations on Instagram, I spent an entire year practicing and drawing on my iPad about 20-25 hours a week, watching tutorials and just finding my style and voice. There was no plan to launch anything with these efforts, but I knew I had a calling I couldn't suppress, because art has always been therapeutic for me. Right now, having this as a full time job allows me a lot of practice, so instead I like to focus on researching topics and points of view I can translate into art that will empower women and make them have a better and deeper relationship with themselves.
What have you learned through your experience as an entrepreneur that can be used by aspiring business individuals?
After running and working with multiple businesses, I can safely state that mission, purpose, and human relationships are way more important than ideas, business plans, or even execution. If there is a calling to do something that changes the world for the better, and there is a personal story behind the work and effort implemented, it is magically a solid foundation. If people are added to the mix who can build trust-based and balanced relationships and power dynamics over working towards the same goal, it's almost a win. Of course, technical talent and a lot of work is also necessary, but in my personal experience purpose and leadership make or break a business.□