LUPE LAWRENCE

Art Times by Lupe

At the age of six, I saw the painting “Hay Wain” by John Constable and was mesmerized.  I recall sitting for hours and staring at the painting while tears rolled down my face.  I thought “This is so beautiful.”  It was in that instant that I knew I wanted to be an artist to create artwork that would stir up emotions in others that “Hay Wain” had stirred up in me.

During high school, I began to express my artistic desire, but was quickly discouraged by an art teacher who told me that I did not have the talent to make it as an artist.  My dream crushed by those words, my artistic talent sat untapped for many years.

It was when a crisis later in life that left me feeling empty than I began to search my soul and ask, “what would make me happy?” Remembering my childhood dream of being an artist, I picked up the paintbrush again. I began taking classes at Covenant School of the arts, and, to the chagrin of that art teacher, discovered that I did indeed have talent!

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The Suri Tribe of the Oma Valley of Ethiopia are known for its ornate decoration of themselves, which
they achieve through painting and adornment with flowers and other natural objects. Many in the West
view them as exotic, but are they? In my Suri series, I explore how we view beauty. Several paintings
are created on mirrors or mirror paper so that your view reflects on you.