Launi Lucas
Sculptor, Painter, Biological Illustrator
I create assemblages made from repurposed materials, and am a painter with a keen interest in landscape painting. I served as Editorial/Biological Illustrator from 1991-2010 in the Zoology Department at the University of British Columbia, where I specialized in insect illustration. I am a founding member and former Director of ReVision - the Art of Recycling Society. ReVision is based in Vancouver, BC and supports artists who use recycled material as a major component of their creative process.
I have a Fine Arts Diploma (1983-1987), from Emily Carr College of Art & Design (now ECUAD), graduating with honours in Painting, and completed a year of post-graduate work (1987-1988) at The Banff Centre's Visual Arts Program. Scientific illustration study was through the support of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators.
Artist's Statement - Assemblage
Stylistically, I'm influenced by the aesthetic and cultural tradition of fine artists and folk artists and their use of non-traditional materials. I'm drawn in by the power, spontaneity, and passion shown in these works, enriched as they are by the historical reference of the material itself. There has never been a time in my life when I haven’t been a beachcomber, daydreamer and seeker of visual inspiration. I am an impassioned collector and scavenger of wooden fishing buoys and floats, miscellaneous metal and wood fragments, and used hardware as material for my art.
Many of the sculptures I create represent marine based wildlife. There is no question that the wellbeing of our threatened and endangered flora and fauna face serious challenges ahead, and particularly those that depend on a healthy marine environment. This is usually in my thought process as I tinker about my workshop.
Mixed Media Assemblage
Image Copyright
All images copyright of the artist and may not be reproduced without written consent.