How would you describe your art?
The first word that comes to mind is contemporary; I consider myself a contemporary artist. I like to focus on figurative representation in my work. There are a lot of other labels that I could add, but the style I try to align myself the most with is realism. Not so much making the images themselves realistic, but more so conveying some type of behavior or presence that can be relatable to everyday life. I try to capture scenes that I think are common, as opposed to ones that are super dramatic or very curated.
What inspires the images in your work?
I like to consider my images a representation of both Oklahoma culture and a regional culture. I’m trying to acknowledge a culture here that I feel like has been under-appreciated for a long time. And for me, again, it’s about capturing things that are common to lots of people. A lot of my subject matter comes from photos that I take when I’m traveling places. It could be people that I know, people that I meet. A lot of my images of cowboys, for example, come from photos that I take of cowboys that are actually in Oklahoma. I’ll go to a rodeo and just capture some images, and that’s the subject matter of my painting. That [realism] is something that I really try to stay close to.
How would you describe your art practice?
I’m an oil painter, mostly. I started off doing a lot of different things, but it wasn’t until I finished art school that I decided to focus primarily on oil painting. I really fell in love with the way the colors are and the whole process of it. I used to hate the process of oils because of how long it took, but now it’s something that I really enjoy. It’s hard to keep me away from oil paint.
You use a lot of vibrant colors in your work. What inspires that?
I’ve always been in love with the use of color in general. I love vibrant colors. I love the way that they can be eye-catching. The use of color as a means of conveying emotion or capturing a certain feeling is one of the things that I try to focus on in my work. The inspiration of Oklahoma sunsets, for example: we have a lot of color in our sunsets, and color is a way to communicate some of that feeling without actually painting a sunset.
But, it’s also me just being inspired by some of my favorite artists. And, I’ve just leaned more into it as I’ve gone along in my career.
What artists inspire you?
Amy Sherald is a huge inspiration for me in the way that she captures color, and also how her subject matter really captures emotion. In a lot of her images, you can tell that these are real people, just existing very naturally. That’s one of the things that I try to convey with my work.
Another person would be Kerry James Marshall. Local artists, like Robert Peterson who is based out of Lawton, make work that I really love. A lot of artists really inspire me; there are lots of times when these artists post images of their work, and seeing them makes me want to go into the studio and create something myself. I think that’s the most authentic way of being inspired by someone.
Could you walk me through one specific piece of art?
The first one that comes to mind is a painting I did for my last solo show, which was in the Paseo. It’s called “A Night at the Aldridge Theater.” The Aldridge Theater was an actual theater in Oklahoma City, in Deep Deuce, back in the early 20s and 30s. It’s been really fascinating for me to learn about some of the vibrant culture that we used to have, especially with live music. Blues and jazz were such a big deal in Oklahoma City at one point.
[In the piece,] I wanted people to understand that the Aldridge Theater was a real place. But, a lot of the images that I had of it weren’t in color, so I had to lean into my own perception of what that place would be like. Even the figures that are in there are friends and family that I had model for me. I was very intentional about the things that I tried to include because I wanted to be respectful of historical accuracy, while also understanding that I wanted to add some element of fantasy to it as well. I figured out a way to merge those two together to make the work still appropriate. It was a bit of a challenge, but enjoyable at the same time.
How do you feel about art as grounded in history, but also as an inherently timeless medium?
That’s the best part about it. Especially when capturing moments of history, I have times when I’m thinking, “how are people gonna receive this painting if it’s still around in 150 years, how are people gonna look at this and feel?”
I’ve tried to focus more on the present in the images that I capture. I think it can be easy to capture moments of history that have gone underappreciated or under-recognized, and I think that’s still important. But, there are also moments that are occurring now that people have to capture. Kerry James Marshall has this quote where he was essentially talking about how a lot of the art that we see has become more abstract over time. I think a lot of the contemporary art we see now is abstract. It’s really good, and I appreciate abstract art. But, one of the things that he was responding to was the notion that we are past the time of capturing people in art works, and how he disagrees with that, because there’s still so much that has not been captured. I think about that a lot, and it has become really important to my practice.
Did you always want to be an artist?
That’s kind of a tricky question. Maybe subconsciously the answer to that is yes, because I’ve always been creating art. But, it wasn’t until I finished art school that I became dead set on being an artist.
It’s still a journey. I’ve gone through so many ups and downs and back and forth moments. It has been a lot of building confidence. When I went to OCU for art school, it was a great experience. But, one of the things I always talk about is representation in terms of the other students that I was in class with. I was one of the only ones from my socio-economic background, and I was one of the only Black students in the entire art school. My Blackness is very important to my work, and it’s not something I do intentionally. It just inevitably happens when I’m capturing things that are part of my lived experience. It took a while for me to really come to terms with what I was communicating in my art, and it took a while to get my art in front of people who understood it. While I think you can appreciate something without fully understanding it, it wasn’t until I started sharing my art outside of school that I found people who related to it.
Now, I can say with confidence that I love what I do and wholeheartedly believe that I’m right where I’m supposed to be. But, it wasn’t always that way.
Would you call yourself a fulltime artist now?
I wouldn’t necessarily say “full-time” in the sense of what other people think because I have what’s considered a day job. But, my job is so connected to art. I work as a project manager for the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, and I help manage the city’s 1% for Art program. It’s a unique connection, even if it’s not really that closely related to my actual practice with painting. But, I’m painting pretty much every day. I go from work to home, and then I start painting. My mind is thinking about art all the time because of my day job and because of what I do outside of that. So, I would consider myself a full-time artist.
How has Oklahoma City been supportive to you as an artist?
The city has been very supportive in terms of my actual job. They love the fact that I have my own practice, which I can apply to my interactions with artists and other projects. I can lean into my own perspective when making decisions, like “how would I feel about this if I was the artist on the other side of this situation.”
In a broader sense, Oklahoma City’s art scene has grown a lot. I’m always meeting someone who’s an artist in some way, shape or form. I credit a lot of that [growth] to the resilience of artists here, being very passionate and focused on really building an art culture in Oklahoma City. And, it really has grown a lot. It’s always easy to look at a situation and think about how it can improve––and everything has room for improvement. But, it’s also a good time right now to take a moment and appreciate how far Oklahoma City has come with its art scene. I’m always meeting new artists, and that’s one of the best parts about being in Oklahoma City right now.
What was it like to figure out you’re on the Forbes 30 Under 30?
I was really excited. It took a while for it to settle, and it’s still kind of hitting me. It’s probably the biggest moment of reassurance I’ve had in my career in a while. It’s one of those things that helps remind yourself that you’re right where you need to be. And as someone who’s always thinking about the future, this was a moment for me to just stop and smell the roses, to enjoy the present.
I would like to see this as something that speaks to the broader art scene here in Oklahoma City. I can think of 30 other artists in Oklahoma City that are just as deserving of a recognition like this. Artists have been around Oklahoma City for a long time; this isn’t a new thing. But, I think it’s starting to become more recognizable. We’ve had some people from Oklahoma City make the list before, and I think we’re going to see a lot more in the future.
What’s your favorite Oklahoma City museum, or space to see art?
The first place that comes to mind is always the Plaza District and the Plaza walls. I love the murals over there. I got to be a part of the mural festival a few years ago, and that was one of the first places that I got to show my art publicly. So, the Plaza District has a special place in my heart. There’s another spot over there called Canopy; four local artists work out of there, and it’s a really great spot to go to.
I like The Oklahoma Contemporary museum a lot as well. I love how accessible it is. It’s important now, more than ever, that we are being intentional about how we break down some of the barriers to art. With all of the great things that we’ve said about how the art scene is growing locally and nationally, there are a lot of local and national arts organizations that are losing funding and receiving pushback. To have a space like The Contemporary that is able to operate in such a way that people don’t have to pay to go enjoy it, it’s a really big deal.
What is your advice to younger artists?
Just keep creating. If you are finding yourself in a space where you don’t have a lot of support––although it’s easier said than done––do what you can to get around people who do support what you do. Have confidence in yourself, but also have other people around you that have confidence in you as well. Never be afraid to put yourself out there and make connections. And again, just keep creating. You never know what will happen. Everyone’s path is different. Never compare yourself to others; comparison is the thief of joy. Just stay focused on what you want to do and really appreciate the art that you bring to the world, because it’s important and it’s unique, because it comes from you.
Leondre Lattimore can be found online at leondrelattimore.com and on social media
@leondrelattimore.
This article appears in Let the Games Begin.