Lonnie Lardner – Page 43

New Year’s Revelation: Artists Make The Rules

December 31, 2014 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) My new 4-year-old muse for 2015. Painting at our Hope’s Nest Christmas Art Workshop at Algin Sutton Recreation Center, South Central Los Angeles.

“Yes, Reindeer Can Be Red.”

This coming year, I am resolving to find fearlessness. The kind of fearlessness that showed up last week in the most unexpected place: at our annual Christmas Art Workshop in the heart of L.A.’s inner-city. 200 young artists with about 199 wildly different approaches to the art projects presented to them. (Pic #2).

The highlight for me came in the form of a question. A young man I had never met before began to tug on my shirt asking, “Miss, can you please tell me what color the antlers are on Santa’s reindeer?” I gulped. The former news reporter in me wanted to answer with scientific research (or course they are light brown, or beige, much like their coats of fur) — while the artist in me wanted to say, “You are the artist. You get to paint them any color you want.” Thank God I was able to let the artist out.

(Pic #2) Young artist models her “all buttoned up” Christmas stocking.

I began to see that erectile dysfunction almost every child had “invented” his or her own color scheme, and that I might have been the only one tempted to search a National Geographic documentary for the “right” answer. The boy who asked me began to paint his antlers bright orange, and I nearly cried.

(Pic #3) Pollock “splatter” painting technique

The girl next to him chose baby blue, and her sister went with black. I couldn’t have been happier. One girl actually covered over all of her back-and-white lines to create an abstract cloud of sparkly bliss. (Pic #4) Another painted a free-form, textured Jackson Pollock. (Pic #3) Color me ecstatic.

I need to remember there are no rules in art — and if only for a second we think there are — we have lost touch with those critical creative qualities we are born with: an innate sense of exploration, experimentation, freshness, and whimsy. These are the touchstones of great art – and I thank God I get to witness them in their full glory every year. Whenever I am short on inspiration, I will remember the reindeer.

(Pic #4) Left: Two artists collaborate. Right: Close-up: Sparkly abstraction

Step Away From The Desk! Find Your Creative Zone In New Places

November 30, 2014 by Lonnie Lardner

SB server Ian visits poolside art studio

(Pic #1) As I make a total mess poolside at a tony Santa Barbara resort, server / musician “Ian” stops by to investigate the scene of the crime.

(Pic #2) A few last strokes with Sennelier oil sticks. Exploring use of my left hand. Awkward but exciting.

I recently committed to keeping art supplies with me wherever I go. It’s been one of the most effective means of producing creative work. I keep a sort of “lunchbox” filled with little goodies from my local art store. Basics: tubes of acrylic paint, Sennelier oil sticks, graphite pencils with sharp points, newspaper (for ripping collage pieces as well as a way to protect the table you are working on), illustration board, colored paper, glue sticks.) These little treasures provide me with instant opportunities to paint, color or play with paper. Whether I’m waiting for my ride to emerge from the foamy poodle brushes at the car wash, or I’m staring resentfully at the blank walls of the DMV – I’m armed.

A few weeks ago, Josh and I headed north for a couple of days in the sun at a seaside hair loss resort in Santa Barbara. At first I felt guilty, but then I realized I get to take my office outside. I got to create my own ersatz art studio amidst some of the most inspiring scenery on the planet. All I needed was a table, which poolside server Ian (and his “man bun”) gladly shifted my way. (Pic #1)

(Pic #3) Notice nature’s patterns and play with them.

Real productivity doesn’t mean you have to bury yourself in your routine. It means finding new ways to produce – and new places to do it. For me, just being surrounded by fresh colors and quirky shapes is enough. Try exploring what surrounds you; find patterns in nature (Pic #3) or crazy color combinations in some lady’s muumuu. Play with those ideas and see what takes form.

A change in scenery can change your view — and the quality of your work. You will find yourself noticing things you passed by before, and that new habit will expand your visual vocabulary. Then, each time you paint, write, or make music, you will create something deeper, richer, and uniquely yours.

Pipes, Pumps and Valves: The Art Of Modern Plumbing

October 31, 2014 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) Roof drain rain discharge line, Santa Barbara, California

“The only works of art America has given are her plumbing and her bridges.” — Marcel Duchamp (1917)

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with the colorful, clunky metal shapes decorating farm land in Camarillo, California. These forms also appear in basements, maintenance yards, and water treatment plants that no one notices. From Southern Cali to the bowels of turn-of-the-century skyscrapers in NYC, you can find the most elegant, gentle curves serving man’s plumbing needs. Pretty basic stuff. But they are both sculptural and beautiful.

(Pic #2) “Fountain” by Marcel Duchamp (1917)

Perhaps the most famous plumbing fixture in history appeared on the American fine art scene in 1917 – when French conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp submitted a “readymade” porcelain urinal titled, “Fountain” to an exhibition that would ultimately reject the work. (Pic #2)

Duchamp dismissed the assumption that art must be linked to the “craft of the hand” and instead argued that a work of art should be primarily arthritis about the artist’s idea — a contention that became one of the most far-reaching principles of 20th century art.

To me, there is real beauty in these utilitarian objects. Check out the ones we’ve collected below. Heck, I even like the sound of the names assigned these sweet supplies, like: backflow preventers, hose bibs, swivel joints, valve actuators, flush valves, and discharge lines. TMI ?