HARDY Dru

Interview with Lon Levin

When did you first think about art as something you wanted to do? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?

I’ve wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember. As a matter of fact, the first time I said it was when I was three years old. The adults I told cautioned me that I wouldn’t be able to make any money at it because only famous artists make money. I then responded, “Ok I’ll be a famous artist then!” That settles that! Was I encouraged or discouraged? Yes! I was encouraged by my mother. One vivid memory was going plein-air painting together when I was in grade school. It was something we had in common and it gave me the message that I was capable as an artist. However, I was discouraged by my high school art teacher, which was particularly hard because I really wanted his approval. When I told him I was accepted into Carnegie-Mellon University and Rhode Island School of Design, he said in front of the whole class, “Well, they are lowering their standards now.” I was devastated because I anticipated that he would be pleased that one of his students would be continuing to study art. I had straight A’s in art so it came out of left field. In retrospect, I think he may have been disappointed in his own life as an artist, and that it was probably nothing personal. On the bright side, I think his criticism fueled my desire to prevail as an artist. This incident also made me want to be an art teacher, one who communicates a message of encouragement and support to all my students. And I did do that for a number of years. Vengeance was mine!

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up? What were your influences?

I was a somewhat shy, sensitive kid with a sense of humor, which kept me buoyant. I was born in Chicago, but grew up in upstate NY in a small town near Rochester. While I prefer city life, I am grateful to have had the small town experience. My influences in high school were the Regionalist painters and the Ashcan School artists. Painters like Thomas Hart Benton and George Bellows were particular favorites. I also loved the Surrealists, with Magritte being key among them. His work is symbolic, conceptual, and funny. I went off to earn a BFA in drawing and painting at Carnegie-Mellon. There, I began to be influenced by The Harry Who and the Chicago Imagists, a group of artists who approached their work with an idiosyncratic style and sense of humor. I took my junior year abroad to study at Goldsmiths College of Art in London. I was lucky enough to meet Glen Baxter, one of the professors at Goldsmiths. He is best known for his comic, single-panel, absurdist illustrations.