Lulu Ladrón de Guevara + Robert Christie

 "The process of writing about what I'm doing in art is synonymous with how I paint. Its a process of getting started, changing my mind, becoming frustrated, and starting over and over again until, hopefully, something clicks. And even then there are no guarantees that what I have to say will have any substance. That's how I paint. 

At the outset of painting I will have some sort of image in mind; often something related to what I've just been working on or something from my past work that I think I can re-kindle. Of course, at this stage I always think that my ideas are terrific but unfortunately the initial visual results seldom live up to the brilliance of the concept. So that's when the real work begins. I alter, add, subtract, re-work and over-paint to the extent that the original concept is essentially non-existent. New avenues are pursued and, likewise, altered over time until something clicks with the imagery that surprises and engages me. Admittedly, it doesn't always get to that end and I will frequently put the work aside and start fresh with a different piece.

I work out of the history and traditions of painting. This doesn't mean that I aspire to paint like the past but rather that I continue to learn from it. With time, the outward appearance of art will naturally change but the essence of what stimulates the viewer is a constant. As humans we share a “natural” affinity for a sense of organization and harmony in what we experience, even in what might initially appear to be discordant. At the same time, visual information that is too well known or overly familiar to us becomes cliche. Consequently, while we continually seek order in our lives – its imperative that it comes with a twist or an element of surprise for us to be truly engaged. I hope that my work provides some of this for the viewer."

- Robert Christie, August 2016.

Lulu Ladrón de Guevara's mixed media works explore light, space, and the passage of time. ...Si dos se besan el mundo cambia (If two kiss the world changes…) and Touching Snow are series of luminous mixed-media wall installations. Timeless Presence 3D is a modular series of sculptural constructions designed to hang either individually or in a grouping. Each sculpture is made up of a unique combination of natural wood grain, jewel-like colours, and hand-applied gold leaf. The West-Coast Douglas Fir blocks are reclaimed from structural beams in a British Columbia factory. The semitranslucent paint wash, burnished gold, and visible wood surface all highlight the natural beauty of the materials and evoke the long, ongoing history of the wood itself.