Monday Morning Art by Lauren J

Ok readers, because I feel art coincides with fashion very much, every month I will feature an artist with COCA style. This month I introduce to you, the works of the very talented & Chicago's own Lauren J. I've actually been an admirer of her work for quite some time now & definitely see her masterpieces being posted "above our couches" in the near future. Below I've posted a couple of her compositions, along with a detailed interview. Check out the girl with the golden hands.

Everything you can imagine is real. - Picasso

1.24.04

Why a date for the title of this piece and what is the story behind it?
1.2.04 was a day that I was very very sad. Interesting thing about this one is that I drew out the pattern and did the piece in one day. Usually I don’t get it out in one day but my feelings were very overwhelming and didn’t stop. It was one of the simplest I had done in terms of the simplicity of the shapes were and there weren’t a whole lot of them. But I definitely feel it is one of my strongest to date.

Green Eyes

Why Green Eyes, is there symbolism in this piece?
There was something that I wanted at that time that I could not have, but I thought it should have been mine.

Is this a portrait of anyone you know?
No, only a feeling.

Can you tell me a bit about your color selection with this and you chose the series of colors you did?
I have a tray of pastels and I just go for it. Something says pick up this color and then I look at where I want that color to go. The only thing that overall may govern the choice of color is if I want a light or dark color, otherwise it is fair game.

Inside Me

Is this a self portrait?
Yes, most definitely.

This is different from Green Eyes because the colors are bolder and don’t blend. Do you prefer to work in this format?
Well, this one is bolder because it was louder, louder crying, louder screams. There is an immenent danger in this one.

It looks like there are flames coming out of the lower left corner, what does that symbolize?
That danger I was telling you about…

Red Apple

What is the story behind Red Apple?
Red Apple was originally a commission. I had to make something for this couple to go in there home. She wanted a conversation piece. I thought I had good grasp on what she would think was ‘hot’. So my choices of colors and shapes were based upon my interpretation of their energy.

In this photo I can see somewhat how you compose a piece. Do you always start off with a sketch when creating a composition?
The felt pieces are always sketched out first. I draw them exactly as the pieces are going to be. If they are going to be big pieces they have to be scaled up. But basically I create a pattern. I trace the individual shapes of the pattern, piece by piece and cut them from the felt.

It looks like the figure from this piece was traced or outlined onto the canvas from a reflection of the figure you drew on the wall. That is an interesting technique. Do you usually work like this?
The original drawing for this one was on a piece of poster board. But it had to become the size of the canvas, it had to become the pattern that I trace from to cut the pieces. So I put the poster board up on the wall, left the plastic on the canvas, and began to just redraw the image by hand. I used different color pastels (pastels just bc they stayed well on the plastic) to be able to differentiate between the correct and incorrect lines.


Out of the 4 compositions we’ve featured which one is your favorite and why?
It’s tough because you have managed to pick like 4 of my favorites. I can just tell you why I like each of them.

1.2.04 is really very unlike a lot of my work because it is so literal. You look at it and you get it. It is, no pun intended, black and white. I think there is a lot of beauty in this piece. For me it is a romanticizing of pain.

Green Eyes was the first oil pastel I did that made me take notice of what I could do with these colors and how it came very naturally. It came from a small period of interesting work.

Inside Me is very sneaky. I used to be shy about showing this piece to people because it was very personal and that it would out me and certain feelings I never liked to put on display. It tends to trick people though. I thought it was so overt and obvious but its most poignant element, or what I perceived to be poignant, goes unseen. So it’s a truth of mine that is still hidden yet people enjoy it for all the many different perceptions of it that they share with me.

Red Apple has been the most inspiring work for me yet. I overcame some fears with this one. It is the largest piece I have done to date and has sparked a lust for creating in the large format. It is the reason I am in the position I am now. I think it is the pivotal piece in my collection.

When did you discover you had an artistic talent & how did you get into painting?
I have always been into art since I was a like three drawing on the walls of the house while it was under construction. My father is a photographer, my mother used to paint, my older sister is an artist, made her own clothes, created her own style. So I always felt the influence and felt it was more so a part of me.

What is your process and approach when you create a composition and how long do your compositions take to complete?
This is a very difficult question to answer in that I have not settled into one style of composition yet. My approach is completely random on the surface. I work when I get the feeling and I work for as long as I have that feeling. It is not something I can create. I can never consciously envision a complete image. No matter what medium I work in, it begins with one line or one shape and it REVEALS itself to me. The next line or shape or color finds its relation to the last and in the end it is like I read the story that the piece was created to tell me. And I make what are seemingly mistakes throughout my process but I find that they are usually the catalyst needed to evolve the process. I firmly believe I am not in control of what I do, it is simply something that comes through me. They can come in one day. Some things I start and the feeling stops and I have to wait. The felt pieces tend to take the most working hours, like well over 30 working hours in some cases.

You have a modern/contemporary style, who are some of the artists that have influenced you?
Piet Mondrian truth in use of the primary colors, Basquiat’s untrained expression of emotion and pain especially his collage works, Picasso’s pioneering cubist work, Fernand Leger’s composition of colors and shapes especially in the woman figure, Roy Lichtenstein who created images that also had a feel for the primary color palette though it’s the seeming tedium in the technique that I love, Salvador Dali is simply a genius to me, and Ena Jenkins. She is my sister and I always felt her talent was far superior to mine. When I was a little girl writing on the walls in the house, she is who I wanted to be.

What motivates you to generate ideas when beginning a composition?
I have a range of styles so this can vary. The patterns created for the felt pieces typically start in the sketch book and they start because of one line. The oil pastel pieces start with me picking up a color and in those cases I generally have a feel for where the negative space will be and I begin with a face. But really I think what it comes down to is that I will have some sort of overwhelming feeling that I may not be able to verbally express and it pushes out.

Can your art be seen in any galleries around Chicago?
No. I am going to be producing a solo show in mid November as a coming out of sorts. In the meantime I am like a mother who is not really pushing her children out of the nest yet. I like having the work around me and I do not want to place my work out of context. By that I mean I have had my work displayed before in environments where I don’t think that they even knew how to interpret it let alone had the ability to usher their patrons into the work.

What do you think about today’s art?
Well there is an enormous amount of work out there and the boundaries of media are non-existent. I love the freedom and range of expression in street art. I especially like the hypocrisy of artists who use their street brand to revolt against consumer brand art when in all actuality they use their signature tag to brand themselves, credit their work, influence others... Who is to say their cause is noble and an advertiser’s is not? I think that, at least in the USA, we are life imitating art. And by far the most popular media are television and all forms of brand advertisement and I do not watch television so perhaps that is an indicator on how I feel about today’s art.

What do you hope to accomplish with your artwork?
I don’t really know. I don’t have some ultimate goal with this. I was told by an intuitive a few years ago, that those that would really appreciate my work have not matured yet. I hardly ever like to title my work, because I typically want to provide an expression that is found within the viewer, like a conversation not a statement. In some cases an emotion is very clearly expressed but even in the use of text or typography I will not make it overt. And so I think that what I feel will be understood by my peers and those that come after us because I am speaking from my subconscious which is of course affected by environment and experiences. Though we are all connected on the subconscious level, my generation and the subsequent are having a similar experience in this new environment.

What medium do you use?
Felt, tapes, different papers, spray paint, acrylic paint, oil pastels, charcoal, pen, whatever else becomes a piece of the puzzle.

What’s your favorite medium to work with and why?
I love felt. You know the fabric on the pool table, yeah that’s it! I think I am enjoying the challenges that it presents. It comes in a finite amount of colors. So it is the finite material with infinite possibilities. It constantly challenges my use of shapes, lines, and composition. And it is considered a child’s craft element. It is in now way considered a medium of fine art. That will change.

What is your favorite color?
Clear

Do you feel art is expressive or a form of communication and why?
I do not believe in eithers or ors in reference to art. It has not been made to make a choice in a while because there are so many media of art, so many styles, and most of all so many interpreters of it. It is both.

Where do you see your art in a few years?
Above your couch?

What are your favorite art galleries or places to look at art in the city?
I like the art institute for the oldies but goodies, I particularly love the modern collection. The MCA for motivation, because you think “Well shit, if these people can make it, so can I!” I love the River East Art Center because it’s such a clean clear display of so many different types of work, that are not necessarily the masters that you find in the museums, but they are accomplished, remarkable, often still working today. But seriously anywhere I can find it.

Other than being a talented artist, what else do you want people to know about you?

I live in My World only
Where sleep does not matter
Where Love is my law
Creation is my lover
and
Happiness
is our child.

How can people get in contact with you to display your art in their galleries or purchase your art?
Shoot me an e-mail…erincolors@gmail.com