We sat down with Lourdes to learn about the individual paintings she has hanging here at Root Hill and also to find out what she is up to next.
"Things were changing for me…. I could feel something building, something …happening…. [I have] just a few clients now that I am doing stuff for…. and…I am getting ready to go to Mexico…. So, I took a month off… [The new paintings were] made at the end of August just turning into fall. It was during pre-Irene, the days before the storm [when] things felt like they were percolating and moving…but somehow still. Our lives are like that when things are feel still, but yet somehow moving. I think that's where the cafe was at too; something was happening, but you didn't know exactly what. So Stephen Kelly, [the architect for the 'rearrange'], said let's call your show "Turning". And that was right on! It made sense and covered a lot of the situations that were happening."
Tell us about the work on display:
"These works are…a watercolor technique that…when [the colors] touch they affect each other…. You don't really know what's going to happen, until it does. It will do something and you may not like it… but you just go on and without worrying about it…. [For display] they are...heat transferred onto fabric."
"Oh, they're 'plewds'…agitation drops from cartoons.... It's a word coined by Mort Walker of Beetle Bailey fame. 'Plewds'…are like all these expressions we have like 'sweating bullets' or like 'crying buckets'. It can represent that you're focused or that something's changing. It can be like you're exercising really hard or that you're anxious; your body's exuding heat and you're chemically changing…. That's what I see with these things shaped like tears…..
I saw this shape in Catholic School with the 'Sacred bleeding heart of Jesus', [it's] the blood running down the thorns. It's so morbid, but also fascinating like Creature Feature. [The shape] is just stuck in my psyche from way back.
I saw this shape in Catholic School with the 'Sacred bleeding heart of Jesus', [it's] the blood running down the thorns. It's so morbid, but also fascinating like Creature Feature. [The shape] is just stuck in my psyche from way back.
In this case [for these pieces], when the shapes are touching they are changing. It [connotes] the way we go through…so much drama and…looking back and see [these moments] can be kind of funny."
"I drew out a shape…almost shield like…and… it started out as a pretty precise drawing. The [colors] were going to touch less at first, but this was painted the afternoon of [Hurricane Irene]…. I had laid out how all the colors were going to go, and I decided I wanted to paint it without stopping…. The paint started to spread more than I intended, and I just let it. When you start painting the paper is stretched, but it starts moving…with the water [from the watercolors] and with the angle of the paper…. [That day] the phone was ringing with people telling me to get out of the house before the storm…but I couldn't stop painting. This…captures the vibe of that day."
"This one started out as a much simpler design…. I thought this was going to be [over by the counter] where people could see it when they were ordering…. I wanted something soothing for customers to look at, so they wouldn't give the staff such a hard time. It's supposed to be something that people aren't aware they were looking at…. Sort of lava lamp like…where there are these blobs that have a soothing effect…. I decided to have it so all the 'dots' are touching, which [represents] how 'we' affect each other. There's an effect when people come together, but we don't always know what that effect is. I was creating that effect of touching…. It ended up looking kind of like molecular DNA. This was not intentional…. it just sort of happened."
"I did this about two years ago. It was done when I was doing aboriginal type work. They're contemporary aboriginal work where you start a line, keep going with it, and although it is raw looking, it actually creates a 3D effect when you stare at it. When I sat down to do this one I was thinking about what's sort of primal and central to all of us. I [thought] about spinal columns up the middle and something that radiates out…[like] our nerves, our awareness! That was the effect I was trying to get… a radiating of the spine and nerves. But it can just work as an abstract decorative pattern. That was a part of that West Elm target [bull's-eye] collection where things just radiate out [from the center] of the piece. It's kind of nice having something simpler with one color."
"I did that one after…I saw what the floor was going to look like. I just thought it'd be great to have that glowy yellow…. I wanted something that when you sat next to it, you felt warm. I thought it would look good next to the gray. I also vaguely wanted it to look like butter….. Radiating! Something that you'd feel great next to on a rainy or cold day."
What's next for you?
"I am going to do some things for my agent, and then I am going to Mexico where I have to start setting up my studio from scratch…which will be an interesting adventure."
"I think that particular spot [where the studio is going to be] is going to be great. It's like the Gowanus of Merida [Mexico]…. I feel very happy! …when I got off of the bus there a year and a half ago I said "I am going to live here, I just know it!" ….And the fact that it's affordable was just mind blowing to me. I didn't want to live there cause it's cheap, I just wanted to live there! .…it has a Mayan undertone. The only thing that scares me is the womens' fashion. When you go to buy stuff, they have all these ruffles…[and[ these peekaboo Cutouts with gold rings! So, if your going [to Merida] you might want to bring your own clothes."
Have you been inspire by Merida already?
"Last year I made my Christmas Cards there, and I was really inspired by the color of the buildings…. They are Necco Wafer colored. They are not obvious brights, but cut down by grays and whites. It was pretty cool. Having more space will definitely influence [my work]. Also, having more sun will definitely change [my] color pallet."
On being an Artist:
"I really enjoyed doing the paintings…but I also like doing my open design line, [Luli Sánchez]…. I went into Chelsea [to an art gallery] and was like "what makes something important" and "what makes it fine art?"…[I thought] "Would my life be happier if I was considered more of a serious full time fine art artist?", I don't think the answer is "yes". I don't think I would be happier…in that traditional hierarchy… patriarchal way….And I am okay with that. I am happy…as I am."
A Little Extra Shot
Lourdes has one of the cutest dog on the planet named Moonpie. We wondered…
How do you think Moonpie feels?
"I think she's happy cause we go to Root Hill and get bacon. She's actually sat on all those artworks [hanging at Root Hill] at some point. She's put a little weight on cause of all the bacon and treats. I might've created a little bit of a monster. I taught her a trick called "sit pretty". So she does that and people just give her half the croissant. I think Moonpie hates it when I am painting, cause when I am painting I am not taking her out where greasy food might come her way."
We are happy to have Lourdes's work in our new space. Come by and see these rich, colorful pieces on display. Plus, find her other works at: LuliSanchez.com
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