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PARADISE9One on one — Artist David Laughlin talks with writer/wife Ann BoeseBY ANN BOESELet’s set the stage. I marriedDavid Laughlin adecade ago in Key Westat the Oldest House. I hadknown him for maybe nineyears before that, and I methim when I bought one of hiscartoons for publication inSolares Hill, which was thena monthly and for which Iwas the editor. In those days,David mostly drew pen andink one-panels, strips andillustrations for local publications.He also worked on lotsof other commercial jobs,including T-shirt designs,signs, murals, and after wemet he turned to theater sets(painting fast and furiously)but not his own art. It wasn’tuntil we became involvedromantically that he started topaint on canvas.David was born to paint.Endowed with varied artistictalents, he can createjust about anything and hisunderstanding of color andlight floors me. I can tell youthat David reads constantly— classics, tomes about artand science, old NationalLampoon magazines. Healso takes long walks aroundSavannah’s historic districtwith our dogs Sherlock andGnatalie, and mentions thingsthat catch his eye … but hedoesn’t talk much about hisart.AB: You don’t sketch yourpaintings out. You just startpainting. Isn’t that unusual?DL: When I was very, veryyoung, two of my favoritepainters were Dali and[Norman] Rockwell, and Ithought that if you were amaster artist — that’s how youdid it. You just sat down andpainted the final painting.AB: What were your firstattempts at art?DL: I was drawing before Ican remember; my folks toldme that. Comics were the firstthings I copied — Peanuts, LilAbner. I thought the newspapercomics were done at thesize that I saw them in thepaper, so that’s what I did.—Then I just got so used todrawing and painting like thatand that’s how I do it.AB: Where do you get theideas you paint? Have youever painted your dreams?DL: Well, it’s how you definedreams. Sometimes you havean idea. For [the paintingtitled] “Meds” I saw this personwith a unique look and Ihad a strong feeling about it… it also just seemed naturalthat she should have snakes inher hair. But that wasn’t reallya dream … sometimes, I letmy idea shift or expand fromthe original thought. Thatcould mean changing thewhole picture, or just changingthe colors or whatever.Sometimes elements, patternsor images come out that Iwant to explore but are notright with the work at hand.So I’ll save the thought foranother painting or drawinglater. But there’s other thingsthat can happen.AB: Like what?DL: Well, one of the piecesfrom this show I had in mindto do for years, but when Istarted, it still didn’t feel quiteright with the canvas size andcolors. So I tried splitting it upDavid Laughlin’s ‘Meds,’ 3-by-4-foot acrylic.into four larger canvases — aquadtych I guess you’d call it— with a very very loose styleand basically two colors. Itseemed right that way. There’snot just one way to do this.AB: I find your understandingand use of color to beexceptional. Do you think youand I see color differently?DL: Apparently so (laughing)!… Someone I reallyadmire for color is [Key Westsign painter] Henry del Valle.He told me that as a youngboy in Cuba he would usewhatever paint he could find.He would actually use dog4/29 & 4/30Damon FowlerFri. & Sat. 7-11pmand cat hair to make his ownbrushes. A born artist. Eventhough he works in signs, heis a master with an inherentknowledge of color.AB: Do you think yourbeing self-taught vs. formallytrained has made a difference?DL: I don’t know.AB: In the last few years,you’ve read a lot about artistsand their lives.DL: I’ve always been curiousabout some artists, eventhose whose work I don’t like… I like Hogarth. Goya — Iexplored more of his works,his times … Dali? The softclocks — he and his wife anda friend were going out for theevening but he began havinga terrible headache andthey went without him — theleftover camembert that hadbeen part of their dinnermelted, he noticed with a littleinterest, and that became theinspiration for the famoussoft clocks, which he finishedbefore his wife and friendsreturned. You just never knowwhere inspiration comes fromor where it will take you.AB: Words of wisdom?DL: A good artist knowswhen to stop.AB: Who said that?DL: Me.A show of David Laughlin’snew works, “Embracing theEye” opens April 30 at FlemingStreet Gallery with a receptionfrom 6 to 9 p.m.Ann Boese has written aboutart for various publications,including ARTnews, and RawVision.340451 329650◆ THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011