Lawrence's Painting

Lawrence Yombwe

Watching Lawrence work on a painting is a thing of beauty, grace and purpose. I doubt that he makes a decision to begin a painting until he has settled the issue of whether or not the theme is ready to see the light of day. Once he begins on a course, the painting seems to paint itself, and he, the master magician, makes the process appear seamless. I was lucky to be able to track his progress through a painting from beginning to end over the course of a couple of weeks. And when the mood was right, I able to pick his brain a bit about what his process is and how he is inspired.

Lawrence has a deep connection to the concept of family, fixed by his tribal roots. Through his painting he returns to this theme again and again. His concept of family grows to take in the community and their stories. It becomes larger still as he takes on social issues that are a response to the global issues of our times. His work is mostly figurative, and most often his subjects are overlaid with symbols that refer to tribal identity and also hold deeper meanings. This distinctive use of symbols has also become a signature of his work.

Figures overlaid with tribal symbols

A landscape begins to form

Lawrence begins by stretching hessian (a coarse jute fabric) over a frame. In this case the frame is a very large one, 10’ x4’. Lawrence sometimes takes off on a painting with very little preparation, but in this case, he works over a thematic idea with drawings, sketches and cut-outs that he tapes temporarily onto the surface of the fabric. This helps him get a sense of the placement and scale of the intended composition. On this painting, the images are worked out and sketched in with dark graphite or charcoal. Then he applies a series of overlapping washes that magically begin to form a landscape that supports and gives a sense of place for the figures.

Figures join the landscape

As the painting progresses and the figures are secured in the background, Lawrence begins to work the fabric from the backside, pushing paint through the weave of the jute so that it makes an appearance on the front surface as small pixels. This process requires him to travel quickly from the back to the front again and again to see that he is achieving desired results. This method yields a kind of pointillist effect to parts of the painting, and Lawrence chooses which sections to manipulate further or leave unaltered.


                        

Pixels of paint push through

It was fascinating to watch his progress over time. One day it would appear that he was finishing the painting, and the next day he would have covered the entire painting with another wash and seem to be starting over again. He used multiple washes over paint that was already dry, and controlled how much effect any of the washes would have by leting the wash sit for a short time, then rubbing out the parts that he did not want to be affected.

Reworking with washes...late night work

I have done enough painting to know that it is typically a lengthy, laborious process to satisfy the demands of the artistic vision. Watching Lawrence tackle a painting, it is obvious that he is driven by his vision and gives himself energetically to his work. I would see him out in the courtyard late at night working in the pale light of a florescent bulb.

I have been privileged to experience a camaraderie with Lawrence, as we have shared, in depth, discussions of our work. What a blessing to have had the opportunity to see such a skilled artist move through a creation from concept to conclusion, and to have been a part of this special artistic community!

It all comes together