Meet Lance Green | Artist/ Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lance Green and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lance, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It’s really pretty simple. I love making art and I’m very good at. I come from an art family on my dad’s side- Grandmother was a master china painter, Uncle was a jazz musician, and stepmother was a Norwegian painter- very avant garde and a best art friend for life. As a kid I moved around a lot with a dysfunctional and at times violent family, and drawing and making art was my sanctuary and joy. I finally ended up living in East LA from 8th grade through college where my high school art teacher, Linda Stevens mentored me and followed my career for the next 40 years. My college painting professor Richard Lopez also remained a mentor all throughout my life. I have been a professional gallery artist since 1989, and it is not an easy gig by any means. It’s a life of huge sacrifice but even bigger rewards, and I firmly believe it’s what I’m here to do- and when you do what you were put here to do you will be provided for. I learned that through decades of experience. My philosophy is that your gift is your calling. Forty years ago I attended seminary thinking I wanted to be of service as a minster of some sort, but it didn’t last long because I realized I could do so much more for people with art than I could otherwise. What I do is a very purposeful pursuit, in that it brings an elixir to the human soul in what is otherwise in many ways a hard and sometimes bleak world. My overall intention is to bring beauty or inspiration or humor or courage in the face of adversity- to bring a Spiritual essence into people’s hearts.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started out as a photo realist artist. Although I was classically trained I prefer to think of my self as self-taught and an outsider. I could copy a photo to the point you would think the painting was an enlarged photocopy of the original, but- so what? I found it tedious and having nothing to convey that wasn’t already stated in the photo- a cliche’. There was an artist that I saw on a PBS special in 1985 and his figures were beautifully distorted and his colors were wild and passionate- like seeing Jimi Hendrix for the first time. Something spontaneous and wild- and so beautiful.IT was like no art I’d ever seen before, but it resonated so deep within me that I went out to the shop the next day and splashed and dripped and flung unheard of almost promiscuous colors onto the canvas and I’ve been doing it every day now for decades. The work has reached a point that I so hoped to achieve, straddling the figurative and the abstract using pure color, washes and glazes, underpainting, classic and distorted form, motion, and emotion- all influenced by my many predecessors starting with the primitive cave painters, but spontaneous and inspired using my own free expression- my own voice. I am classically trained but at this point in my life I only use that as a foundation for all out improvisation. As my musician uncle used to say, “You’re painting jazz.”
I hesitate to use the word “healing” concerning my art, as it has become a hackneyed expression used by new age charlatans and wellness posers to the point it’s been drained of meaning or credibility. That being said, every piece I paint is done with an intention to use symbolism and color and subject matter (and Spirit) to bring an elixir to the soul of the observer. I’m a big believer in Jungian and shamanistic qualities of myth, symbol and subconscious offering, as Native Americans refer to it, “Medicine” to those that observe and open up to it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We live about five minutes from Garden of the Gods, and hike there several times a week, so they would have that. There is also a nice nature path that we walk every morning so they could join us. Sometimes guests like to hang out in the studio and paint. We’d definitely take them to Monica’s Mexican Restaurant on Fillmore for some amazing East LA style food. Also Saigon Cafe and of course the Broadmoor for drinks. On Sundays after walking the Santa Fe trail we usually head to Wyatt’s Pub in Rock Rimmon for “a breakfast burrito the size of your head.”
A walk around Manitou Springs is kind of a tourist must. Sunwater Spa is such a treat. You can soak in local waters under a looming Pikes Peak or take a yoga class or massage.
A day in Denver would include the Denver Art Museum and then Hapa Sushi off 16th Street for a meal.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would definitely put the shout out to Fritz Scholder, the most famous and most controversial Native American artist in the nation- a founder of the American Indian Art Institute in New Mexico. www.fritzscholder.com He was my all time art hero, and I actually met him on the day of my mother’s funeral at a gallery next door to the restaurant we ate at after the service. We talked for over an hour, and he got my address, and every time he had a show he sent me a postcard with a personal message. For one of the most famous artists in the world he was incredibly gracious and generous towards me. I finally got an opportunity to work with him in a series of workshops and he became a friend and mentor until his passing in 2006. I owe a good deal of my success as an artist to him

Website: www.lancegreenarts.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lancegreen_arts/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lancegreenarts/