Melissa Lakey
In Joshua Tree, California, Melissa Lakey's studio windows look out onto the Mojave Desert. Moving there brought her back to art after a decade-long break. Lakey stopped painting realistically and now works in gouache, ink, oil pastel and colored pencil. Her subjects are the Wild West, night and music. As a child she wanted to be a cowgirl, and this year she started taking horseback riding lessons. Her clients have included the LA Times, Compendium and Schoolhouse.
Q: You wanted to be a cowgirl growing up but became an artist instead. How did you get here?
A: I've actually been taking horseback riding lessons this year for the first time, so maybe I still have a cowgirl future! I became interested in art in my teens but quickly lost interest when I got too focused on figuring out how to sell it. I spent time traveling, then got into film for a while and eventually picked up a paintbrush again and fell back in love with painting about 10 years ago when I moved to Joshua Tree. This time around, I just wanted to make paintings I loved. That seems to have resonated with people, and now I'm very fortunate to be able to make art full time.
Q: Coming back to art in the desert, you left realism behind. What made you want to work differently?
A: When I first started making art after such a long time away from it, I was very focused on making art that "didn't look bad." But after a while, I realized the art I was drawn to most was weird, wonky, naive, and exuberant. So I decided to stop trying to make "good" art. I started using colors I love, and subject matter I'm fascinated by (like cowgirls!). I let myself draw and paint free and fast and messy. Most of all, I focused on creating art that was fun.
Q: Your studio windows look out onto the Mojave. What does a day in there look like?
A: I like to work on several pieces at once, often similar pieces so I can try out slightly different ideas on each one. I keep a fairly messy studio, with plenty of art supplies spread everywhere, surrounded by sketchbooks and old paintings of mine that I want to reference in the new work. It's nice to have all the ingredients close at hand.
I like to listen to audiobooks while I work and take plenty of tea and snack breaks. If I can, I love to have the whole day focused on painting so I can get immersed in it, and do admin tasks on a non-painting day, but often I'll need to do both in the same day.
Q: How do you decide what material a painting needs, when you often have several going at once?
A: Usually it's determined by the order of which materials layer best. I'll often start with a background of ink or gouache, then work on top of it with colored pencils and oil pastels. Nothing will really work on top of the oil pastels, so they are always the last layer.
Q: Beyond the desert there's night and music in the work. What do they bring to the piece?
A: I've always been drawn to night scenes, and have been exploring them in my artwork for a few years now. There's something extra special about night here in the desert where I live. Sometimes I can hear a pack of coyotes yipping and playing in the hills outside my studio or the hoot of an owl in the distance.
Music and musicians are another theme I keep returning to. I like to think that including musicians in a piece evokes the feeling of music and taps into some of that magic. Even though you can't hear the music, you know the people in the painting are feeling something big enough to turn into a song. It could be joy, or loneliness, or wonder at the world and their place in it.
Q: The Tumbling Tumbleweed Road Show took the work to Texas. What are you working on now?
A: After several years mostly painting the desert, I wanted to spend time working with new subject matter, so that's been my focus this year. I just opened a solo show at @goodluck_gallery in Montana with new work that is inspired by the mountains, and I'm finishing up work for a group show in Chicago at @joymachine.art that is inspired by vintage objects. It's been fun to explore!
