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Artist Interview Series | Anthony Lazorko | Woodcut Prints

Linus Galleries, Fine Art Gallery

2014 Artist Interview Series

Anthony Lazorko

Linus Galleries, a Los Angeles contemporary art gallery, presents The Artist Interview Series. Our Linus artists are from all over the world and come from a variety of different practices and backgrounds. Read on to gain insight into the creative process and personality of our featured artist. This week we feature Anthony Lazorko who recently exhibited one of his colorful, charming woodcut prints  in our Dream State exhibition.

1) Please tell us your name, artistic practice of choice, and location in the world.

I’m Anthony ‘Tony’ Lazorko and I am a printmaker living in Mesilla, New Mexico. Although I have made my living in commercial art all my life, the love of printmaking has always been a big part of my life. A few years ago I retired from my job as Art Director of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and have begun again to make prints.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print
A portrait of Anthony Lazorko

2) Are you self-taught or did you formally study art?

I received four years of fine arts education, 1956-1960, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There I studied drawing, oil painting and printmaking under the tutelage of such prestigious artists as Morris Blackburn, Walter Stumpfig and Franklin Watkins. The focus of my work has always been to depict something about the American experience, no matter how ordinary, and to say it in an aesthetic manner with tactile surfaces, color and composition.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print
“19 and nine-tenths”
Woodcut Print

3) This is a hard choice for many visual artists, but what is the first answer that comes to mind when you think of your favorite color?

Maybe blue but green in all its variety.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print
“Xmas Eve on the Avenue”
Woodcut Print
Linus Galleries 2014 Dream State Exhibition

4) Where do you create your art?

In my imagination, day dreaming and from what I see around me. My wife, Marguerite Biddle, and I purchased a small house and studio in Mesilla, New Mexico, where we are busy working. She and I were fellow students at the Academy.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print
Printer Edgar Ivar Rincon assists Anthony “Tony” Lazarko.

5) What is difficult for you about your chosen medium?

Errors are time consuming to resolve. My woodcuts are multi-color, involving many separate blocks. I always pull my own prints so the whole process is quite time-consuming. Therefore, I do not like to send them out to galleries unless there is real interest.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print

6) What trends bother you?

Personal “mental dramas” on paper or canvas tend to bother me.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print
“Temple Chevron”
Woodcut Print

7) Describe your “aha” moment when working with your medium that made you make that leap into another level. Or does that feel like it is yet to occur?

It’s always elusive, but you know it when it happens.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print
“Let’s Eat!”
Woodcut Print

 

8) How do you unwind your brain?

To relax I like to read or watch baseball on TV.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print
Tony’s cat naps in the artist’s workspace.

9) What musical artist/band are you currently listening to when you are creating?

Bach, Classical music., and sometimes jazz.

los angeles, linus galleries, woodcut print
“Moonlit Hotel”
Woodcut Print

10) Any parting advice for budding artists?

To help pay for my tuition I was a print monitor for three years at the behest of Morris Blackburn (see question #2).

It takes a dogged effort, don’t give up.

 

If you are interested in purchasing artwork from this artist or any of the artists featured on this blog or our website please  CONTACT the GALLERY

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2014-10-27
Previous Post: Artist Interview Series | Len Upin | Ink Drawings
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