We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lucy Luckovich a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lucy, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
To be an artist, I think it’s necessary to be an incredibly hard worker. Not only is it important to develop and master your craft, but you also have to learn how to advocate for yourself and essentially run your own business. When it comes to art making, I’ve been able to look to my dad as an example of the hard work an artist needs to put in to their career. He’s been an editorial cartoonist at the AJC for over 30 years. Growing up, I watched him go in to the office early and return late at night, apply for awards every year, and constantly sketch out ideas for cartoons in his free time. Not much has changed as I’ve gotten older. Although he’s become a successful cartoonist and has achieved many, if not all of the goals he had set for himself, he still works constantly and continues to push himself creatively. I know that the reason he’s this dedicated to his work is because he loves it and he believes in it, so that’s been an incredible example for me as I’ve developed my own practice and begin to understand what it means to be an artist.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am an artist primarily working in oil paint. I enjoy creating paintings that challenge the ideas of still-life and focus on concept as much as they do craft. I get most excited about discovering new compositions and playing with foreground, background, and focus. I’m currently based in Atlanta, but I will be moving to Providence, Rhode Island in a couple of months to attend Rhode Island School of Design for my MFA in Painting.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I believe that when pursuing anything it’s important to keep in mind our impermanence and that our time on this planet is temporary. When I’m feeling unsure about what I’m doing or I feel like I’ve made the wrong decisions, I remind myself that I will not be around forever, and I chose to pursue what is most important to me even if it’s not the type of career most compatible with the way our world is structured. I think this way of thinking then lends itself to hard work, making the most of your situation, and being grateful for what you have. When you understand that life is temporary, you also understand that it’s important to make the most out of the time we do have and what we have been given. That mindset has been the most helpful to me, and I encourage anyone early in their journey to remember that this life is finite, and the best time to start anything is now.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The book Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov has played a hugely important role in my development. Before I had even read Lolita, the themes and aesthetics of the book were present in a lot of the media I engaged with online and in music. Once I finally read it a few years ago, I understood why this book left an impact on so many people and has remained embedded in our culture since it was written. The flowery language and nuance within the writing allows for an incredibly complicated story discussing victimhood, persuasion, and American attitudes towards sexuality particularly the sexuality of young girls. I felt like this book opened my eyes not only to my own relationship with my body and experiences as a young girl, but it also showed me how to better deal with and embrace ambiguity and unclear narratives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lucyluckovichart.com
- Instagram: @lucyluckovich
Image Credits
Brayan Enriquez
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