My Brother, the Artist — an Interview

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Art, Artist, Brother, Family, Gallery, Interview, Memories

On Writing Pieces of Me I try to share a little bit about my writing goals and progress, some poetry, general ramblings and stories about growing up where “my brother the artist,’ as I often refer to him, costars.

Today I’d like to introduce you to him! Patrick has been drawing for as far back as I can remember. He also paints, sketches, does graphic design work and writes. He’s got some exciting things brewing and I wanted to share, so please welcome my brother, Patrick Lugo.

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Me: Pat, thanks for joining me on WPoM! Can you tell everyone about your big events this weekend?

P: I don’t know that I would call this weekend’s activities “Big Events,” but I’m personally excited to have back-to-back Artists’ receptions this Friday night and Saturday afternoon. One reception is for the second and third of three art gallery shows this spring, SCIENCE/FICTION at the Sun Gallery in Hayward, California and the other is DECKED OUT at the Olive Hyde Gallery in Fremont. Both are what I’d call suburban cities east of the San Francisco Bay.

Me: Good luck with the shows! I’m sure they’ll be great. Can you tell us about your previous gallery shows?

Pat’s Gallery Show for Little Monk, 2013

P.: The first group art gallery show I participated in was only last year. It was the 24th Annual Children’s Book Illustrators Exhibit at the previously mentioned Sun Gallery. I had eight pieces of art featured at the show, they were from my premiere children’s book Little Monk & the Mantis.

This year, the Sun Gallery added ‘zines and comics to the theme of their 25th Annual Children’s Book Illustrators Exhibit, a fortunate occurrence as I had moved from working on children’s book art to focus on my long-in-the-works graphic novel Tiger’s Tale. I had six pieces on display in that show, two of which sold.

Snapshot from Tiger’s Tale

Me: I’ve been looking forward to seeing the Tiger’s Tale series as a graphic novel. Can’t wait! What other works have you done before?

P: I guess I’ve been a working artist since before I completed art school some 25 years ago. I actually started a blog post musing on the 25 year journey from art school to art gallery, it remains unfinished and may end up as a retrospective on this recent run of shows. In terms of projects, or works of art, I’ve illustrated comics and manuals, CD and record albums, posters and T-shirts have also had my art on them. I also recently donated some art to a non-profit volunteer medical organization which has now used that artwork as a graphic on their medical supply truck.

Me: Can you tell us how you got into art in the first place and what or who were your influences?

P: I really can’t think of a time when I wasn’t “into” art, I don’t think there was a “got” point. I’ve always been visually oriented and have really, really old memories of what I’ll describe as me projecting my imagination, or imaginary images upon the world around me. Unfortunately this would also tend to happen in the quiet dark of the night, leading me to see scary silhouettes in the trees outside the window or the cloths in the partially open closet. Describing these images as rudimentary drawings probably happened before I had the vocabulary to do so with words.

It wasn’t long after, that I was also attempting to render the more mundane elements around me on paper, most often combining the two. As you know, Sunday Mass was a significant family tradition. Our mother always made a point to supply me with a small pad of paper as well as some pens and pencils. With these, I could quietly sit at the church pews using the seat as a table, sitting on that fold out cushion the congregation normally used to kneel upon.

Me: I don’t remember Mom giving me anything to do to keep me busy during church. 🙂 Are there any upcoming projects we should be on the look out for?

P: Comics mostly, I’m looking to complete Tiger’s Tale this year plus I may also return to contributing art to a comic book I worked on way back in the 90’s. Its title is America Man, I did ink work over another artist’s pencil art for the first issue way back then. I’ve recently reconnected with the author who intends to continue the comic as a self published series. He’ll write it and do some initial art that I will then ink and embellish for him to then color and treat with CGI effects.

A.:What’s your best memory from growing up? Remember when we used to get everyone to think we had ESP with that little mind trick of ours?

P: How would I forget that bit of ESP? As for the BEST memory, I’m stumped. There are a few good ones that come to mind, I think the older ones, by their nature, have a more precious quality. That nostalgic glow adds an extra sweetness, to remembering the prefect reproduction of the Adam Wet era batman mask our father sewed for me as part of a Halloween costume. That batman suit was probably one of my first Halloween costumes. Now that I think of them, quite a few revolved around comics, learning to read from comics borrowed from older brothers, the chance to pick out my own comics after church on Sundays, even the missions to run across the mall parking lot to hit the comic shop called THE BATCAVE while the folks shopped at the JC Penny’s.

A. We did have some awesome costumes growing up. Helps when our dad is a taylor! So do you mind co-staring in my ‘growing up’ stories? Feel free to share some ideas of other stories I should write.

P. Just off the top of my head I would suggest something about the summer parties in our big back yard in Brentwood. Fireworks for our brother’s 4th of July Parties, or the use of the massive brick BBQ’s. Thinking of Pig-roasts also makes me think of church picnics. Have you noticed I’ve mention religion a few times in relation to early childhood experiences? There might be some interesting insights to be found in the racial divide of American Blvd. growing up. How well do you remember our foster sisters? Or how about that first trip to California?

A. Those are some great topics – you’ve given me a lot of ideas and material to work with. (No pressure). If there are one or two things you’d want people to know about you, what would they be?

P: I like Art, I like comics and I like dogs. I should get around to a comic about dogs.

Me: Who’s your favorite superhero character and why?

P: Favorite is a tough slot to maintain, Batman for many pretty obvious reasons but also Cyclops of the X-Men. As super powers go, it’s merely a variation on laser-beam-eyes but with-in the comic series of the X-Men he’s tended to have a nice bled of pathos, angst and vision, in the hands of the right writer.

Me: This was fun. So glad you got to join me on my blog (considering you were the one who encouraged me to start it in the first place. Thanks for that by the way). Before you go, tell everyone how they can connect with you to find out more about you and your artwork?

P: Website: PLUGOarts.com, Twitter: @PLUGO, YouTube: Patrick Lugo, Facebook: www.facebook.com/patricky.lugo, Tumblr: Plugoarts

Me: Thanks Pat and GOOD LUCK with your shows this weekend!!!