Laurie Lipton: "The picture of Russian artist changed my life"
2015-03-24
Laurie Lipton was born in New York and has been drawing since the age of four. She was the first person to graduate from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pennslyvania with a Fine Arts degree in drawing. Now she is well-known artist who create horror (sometimes) art-works by similar pencil. We asked Laurie Lipton about her labor work, about pencils and the Russian artist who had inspired her in childhood.
Some people say that if the art work is gloomy, the person is gloomy too. We are confident that this is the biggest mistake! However, what can you say to that?
My mother used to say, “Better out than in!”. I can deal with all my anxieties and fears through art. I am a well-adjusted, happy woman (but might also be delusional).
In your works grey is the prevalent color. Can bright colors be in other parts of your life? May be clothes? Home interior? What colors do you like?
Black & white are my favorite colors.
Your works looks like illustrations to dreams. Do you have dreams?
My work is not an illustration of dreams. That is called “Surrealism” and I am not a surrealist. My imagery is well thought out and intentional. I do dream (like most people) but use my awakened life & this insane world to inspire my art work.
How many pencils do you need to finish one piece? Do you have favorite pencil marks (brands?)?
I use re-fillable click pencils with permanent points. It saves time. I don’t have to keep stopping to sharpen my pencils.
For how long do you draw your work? What was the longest time you’ve worked on one piece and the shortest?
I just finished a piece called “Happy”, 6foot x 9foot, and it took me about 6 months to complete (I work every day). The shortest piece was a small portrait that was a private commission that took me 4 days.
Have you ever heard the term geek art? As for me it`s kind of very very patient person. Do you think of yourself as a geek artist?
Ha! I would like to think of myself as a “geek” artist. I admire geeks. They seem to be the most intelligent people on earth.
Your work is a very great labor! Were you so patient from your childhood?
I liked to get into my own world from a very early age. I used to make cities out of things I found around the house. My poor mother used to sacrifice her jewelry and kitchen utensils so that I could create “futuristic” towns. I used to sit for hours by myself. I found it more interesting than playing with other children. Naturally my parents were worried, but they never discouraged me.
Do you follow some contemporary artists? Who do you like?
I like a lot of the graffiti artists here in LA, though I don’t know their names offhand. I like any art that looks like it took time & thought & talent.
Do you know someone from contemporary Russian artists?
Again… I’m bad with names & not too familiar with contemporary Russian art, though I always adored Russian religious icons & Chagall & Kandinski. The painter, Pavel Tchelitchew, changed my life when I saw his painting, “Hide & Seek”, hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. I was about 7 or 8. I stood in front of it, mesmerized, for hours. My father & brother left me there & went off to see the rest of the museum. I got an audience of people wondering what a little girl was doing, standing so still for so long! I was trying to burn the image into my brain. It was magnificent. I DID burn it into my brain. It helped to awaken a desire to create.
What is the most unusual review you got for your work?
I don’t remember anything terribly unusual written about my art, though I did follow two women around an exhibition of mine, incognito, some time ago. They said, “Oh this person is weird! I wouldn’t want to meet her!!”. I was standing right next to them, smiling sweetly, nodding my head in agreement.
