Artospective: Graphite & Charcoal Drawings by Laurie Lipton.

"ROUND & ROUND 2012", 37"x53", charcoal & pencil on paper.

An Interview with Laurie Lipton.

Who and where are you from?

I am Laurie Lipton and I was born in NYC, but spent more than half my adult life in Europe. I currently live in Los Angeles.

How you got into this?

I didn't. This got into me. I drew before I could talk. I've been drawing longer than anyone on earth. I don't necessarily think that's a good thing... it's slightly mad.

What is your driving force?

Bliss. Drawing is my bliss.

What kind of work you do and why?

I draw with graphite & charcoal. Sometimes my drawings are 9foot x 12foot, but the technique is very detailed & tedious. I build up forms using thousands of tiny cross-hatched lines, like an early Renaissance egg-tempera painting but much more complex & difficult. You can't really tell HOW detailed my work is on a computer screen, but people are stunned into silence at my shows. Unlike most "Modern Art", there's so much to take in.

Tell us more about your thought process.

If I could tell you, in words, about my thought process, I'd be a writer.

Please share with us the one modern artist whose work you find Interesting and why?

Zdzisław Beksiński... because his imagery is unique, powerful, disturbing and brilliantly executed. He died in 2005, but you can find his work easily online.