Nissa, Oil 60″ x 60″ |
By Devon Jackson
LIKE MANY ARTISTS, Lucong works out of a studio in his home. And like many artists, he reconfigured his studio space according to his specific needs. But unlike most artists, his studio ceiling is 25 feet high to accommodate the extra-large canvases he paints. He cut away part of the floor in the historic 1892 house where he lives in downtown Denver, CO, and now his studio extends from the basement to the top of the 14- foot ceiling on the first floor. He can place a canvas as large as 10 feet square on his easel, and with a system of ropes and pulleys he devised, he can move the easel up, down, left, or right. “It’s ideal for my work,” says Lucong, who paints stylized, larger-than-life portraits in oil. Indeed, much of the impact of Lucong’s work comes from its sheer scale. “Size is the biggest influence on my work,” says the artist, who watches his Netflix movies on a 12-foot-tall movie screen.
But while large dimensions define much of his work, Lucong contends that he is still searching for his own style. “I haven’t yet found a style or a look that I’m comfortable with. I really don’t feel like I’ve gotten it right yet.”…
Featured in April 2007
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