The Illustrators Journal Spring 2020

Interview with Lon Levin

When did you first think about art as something you anted to do? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?

I was seven years old when art came into my life. When I was young boy my mother would go grocery shopping, and during that time she would go to the A&P grocery store. She would give me the brown paper bags from the A&P and I would open them up and use them as drawing paper to do my art with. I’m the second oldest of five children and the only one who would get the brown paper bags, well I was the only one who wanted them. My siblings were not interested in the arts at all. This is how it all started, the dream of me wanting to be an artist. With that kind of support what else can I do but to dream big and pave my way to a career in art. I would like to talk about support and why it’s important. For a young artist and for that matter any artist to have support in the making of their career. I know that most parents never ever want their child to grow up to be anything in the creative arts. But I’m telling you now if you take on this fight you will lose, I know my mother and stepdad did. You see don’t give a stray cat milk if you don’t want them to stay. But my story did not start with my mom, it started with my older brother Charles. Yep my big brother.

Let me tell you how this happen. Well this story starts with fire. Okay it was a match, one day my brother and I was playing on the stoop in Brooklyn, and we decided that we're going to play with matches. My brother liked to play army, and with a book of matchsticks, we decided we would get an army together. My brother and I were just striking matches trying to make an army when an old lady stuck her head out the window and told us to stop playing with matches. My brother told the old lady to mind her business and she stuck her head back inside her apartment. Ten minutes passed and then we heard a fire truck. The fire truck went streaming down the street and it stopped right in front of my brother and I. A fireman got out of the truck and said, “Are you kids playing with matches?” Of course, we said, “No.” We were then asked to get into the fire truck and they drove us to their fire station. At the fire station, they gave us a tour and showed us where they slept, where they ate, and even went up and down the fire pole which was fun.

"I was seven years old when art into my life. "

"I grew up in Bedford -Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, (Yes do or die Bed Sty) "

(Continued)

The fire chief gave my brother and I paper and crayons then said, “play with these instead, then come back tomorrow and show me what you’ve done.” We were put in the back of the fire truck and dropped off where they found us. My brother started to draw fire trucks and they were wonderful. So, what do I do as a little brother, I cried until he said, “Okay, I'll show you!” He showed me how to draw fire trucks which I started to draw all day, probably most of the night. I was very excited about what I had done. So, I told my brother we have to go back and deliver this artwork to the fire chief. My brother said, “I'm not going.” So, I threw his away and went to the fire station with just my drawings. The fire chief put my drawings in the Marquee which was in front of the fire station. That moment is when I got hooked and that fire station marquee became my personal gallery, I would show my friends, my brother and sister as well. My brother was my first supporter of my art. My mother and stepfather didn’t want me to be an artist, I was good at math and all of my other subjects. So being the second oldest of five children they had a lot of hope of me being something other than poor. I grew up in Bedford -Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, (Yes do or die Bed Sty) like most black families and I’m sure some white’s think that being an artist is not a good career choice. As far as my mother and father was concern. This on one thing divided my parents and me. I was so certain that I would become an artist nothing they would say can change my direction I had for my life.

I would draw all the time since I was seven, and I was pretty good at it if I had to say so myself. I did the usual stuff like draw superhero like Captain America and Batman and yes, I was happy when Black Panther came out I would read comics until the paper would wear out but I loved to draw like you wouldn’t believe. If I wasn’t playing basketball I was drawing, I would draw all day and most of the night when my brother would fall asleep. I love my brother Charles, still do. He believed in me but he would say why don’t you just agree with mom and dad and they would leave you alone. I don’t know I guess I was hard headed or I just knew I can make it no matter what anybody said.

"I would draw all the time since I was seven, and I was pretty good at it if I had to say so myself. "

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. And I went to the High School of Art and Design where I studied Illustration and advertising New York have professional art schools and trade schools. Being in New York was great because you are around really good art and that’s were everything starts. I can get to museum’s and art galleries. The neighborhood that I lived in was pretty bad, drugs gangs and prostitutes. But I had a lot of fun I went to the Pratt institute Saturday art program and private art lessons with my seventh-grade art teacher, Ellen Kuenzel who is my life long teacher and mentor. Since I was a kid I love her and listen to her until this day. I loved John Singer Sargent and Norman Rockwell who are on the top of my list and it changed throughout the years from Illustrator’s to Painters. Illustrators are Norman Rockwell, Dean Cornwell, N.C. Wyeth, Paul Calle, J.C. Leyendecker, Mark English, Bernie Fuchs, Bob Peak, Drew Struzan, Ezra Tucker and Thomas Blackshear. I played High School and College Basketball. I got a full ride to Pratt Institute to play basketball it was hard and fun at the same-time...

Your style is very uniquely classical. Did you work on developing a style or is that of you what naturally came out

I came to my more classical style over time, it happens more when I came out of graduate School, I studied Illustration at Syracuse University and was a studying artist that was illustrator and fine artist at the same time, which I think I am at this time. And the ones that can do it well are the ones that have a more classical way of working. I went to the Illustration house and talked to Walt Reed about this. He was a wealth of information and told me the who was the best at it, the list of artists he named was Skip Liepke, Burt Silverman and Marshall Arisman. And My buddy Thomas Blackshear does it as well.

You’ve worked in a couple different styles. traditional and one that is more caricature. How did that evolve and is that an asset for you or a problem for art directors?

I don’t do a lot of caricatures, but I do them when called upon, but my traditional styles is what I live and die by and get work into shows. Most art directors want more of my traditional way of working but every now and then they want something different and if I know them and it will not confuse them I’ll do it.

I do like to do of life drawing studies it’s like when you play a sport if you lose your edge you go back to the fundamentals to keep you in line with your core. I teach a course on digital painting and they have to start each project with an analog drawing before they do anything digital.

Your art work for Young Landau is superb. It’s almost like you’ve created another world dimension and character. How did you arrive at that image?

I was asked along with about a hundred other artists to do a painting of the Star Wars Universe and to use our imagination to come up with whatever we want and this is the painting I came up with, we had a lot of freedom and they give no real instructions, it was a lot of fun and I got it done in three days. I did it in oils and I sent it off wet. It was an honor to do the painting and to be with a list of artists that I respect.

What’s going on in your head hen you work on a piece/campaign? Your fears, anticipation, confidence , etc. Ho do you know something is finished?

Well the first thing is coming up with an idea. Doing a lot of drawings and doing more drawings most of the time they are thumbnails but they get the job done. When I was in school I hated them but now I love them. Mark English was a master of the thumbnail and I love him for it. The fear that I have for any painting is if I would like it or not but worse if the client like it or not. I know a piece of art is finished when I can do my rule of six. At the end of each painting I put a list of six things I have to get the painting to and it’s finish. When I get through the list I do a new list of six if the list gets to five or four it’s done.

What made you focus on the traditional style illustration?

I tried a lot of techniques like watercolors, acrylics, gouache, airbrush and now oils. I was a studio artist for almost ten years and we had to copy every illustrator known to mankind, if you were on the top ten then you were on our list to copy. The companies I worked for was in the Mid-West. And if we couldn’t figure the technique out we would call the artist or illustrator to give us the information we can’t get. They would give us the formula. It was a fun time and I found out illustrators love to share. I know if you want to know anything about what or how I do anything, I would tell you, this gives me the opportunity to learn something new and keep growing as an artist. I love giving information and techniques away, this will keep you from living in a hole and not adjust to change. Change is good for any career because our field keep changing and you should always adjust.

Who if anyone influences your work?

At this time in my career its nobody and everybody if that makes any sense, I’m always looking but now it’s artist all over the world. I look at all kinds like, world class painters and sculptures, digital artists, female artists, artist of color I like paper illustrations, comics 3D and fantasy art. Anything with the movie industry... I like everything.

There is a number of things you can do to get work. Social Media like Facebook and Instagram, But the best way is the word of mouth, I also give out a lot of business cards about 600-1000 a year. I also get into as many magazines and art shows exhibitions get awards if you can and be someone art director can trust with their baby.

What’s the future hold for you? Any ultimate goal?

I would love to continue to work and paint. I would like to paint more of my own ideas and do a few one man shows and have my work travel around the world.

Alexander Bostic is an illustrator and fine artist. He is an Art Professor at Mississippi State University.

" I was a studio artist for almost ten years and we had to copy every illustrator known to man"