Interview with Darlene Gentry Lucas

Lynn- What artist are you most influenced by?

Darlene- Katherine Chang Liu and Mark Mehaffey because Mark was my first watercolor teacher and Katherine has been my mentor for 5 years.

L-What famous artist in art history is your biggest influence?

D- Charles Burchfield because of his bold mark making, interpreting something that is sound, not something that is totally seen.
Joseph Raffael because of my love of watercolor, although he creates in acrylic and oils, he uses them in a watercolor way, capturing movement and puddling.
Arthur Dove, who also captured sound visually.

L- Why have you chosen watercolor as your medium?

D- Because watercolor is 2,000 years old and I like that idea.  And no other medium is so luminous and flowing as watercolor.  I love to watch the interaction of pigments.

L- Your watercolor paintings look like no one else that I have seen, how does this happen?

D-I paint for myself.  I enter shows by looking at the paintings I have and see where they might fit.  I don't paint for shows. I concentrate on my feelings.  I read a lot of physics and astronomy books.  I sketch, I draw or I paint every day.

L- Why does science have such a profound influence in your art?

D- I had good botany and biology teachers and I discovered physics 2 years ago.  Its exciting to live today when we have so many answers to what the cosmos is.

L-What music inspires you when you paint?

D- Andre Segovia and Egor Stravinsky and Abba.

L- What would you advise a young person wishing to become an artist?

D- Keep a sketchbook!  Draw every day.  Persist

L- With your busy schedule how do you find time to paint?

D- I grab 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there and a half a hour when I can and it adds up to a lot.  I grab the little minutes. Each moment is precious.

L- How much time per week do you spend on the business aspect of art?

D- I spend a average of 2 hours a day on the business of art.  More realistically I spend 2 days out of 7 on the business.

L- How do you find your inspiration when you feel stuck?

D- I'm never stuck because I have my sketch books.  

L- Any finishing thoughts?

D-My life is one joyous time from the moment I get out of bed in the morning till I go to bed at night I am so grateful.
​My epitaph should be "filled with delight day after day".

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