By Jake Luplow
Perception is the thread through which the mind creates the tangible. Like a ghostly moon intermittently vanishing behind shapes of gray galloping across the sky, so too does perception vanish beneath the insights we wear–only to reappear crystal clear and wreathed in electric silver. Perception is the artist’s tool.
I have had many pleasures and honors in my life. I have had moments of which have shaped and defined me. And I have witnessed and been a part of greatness. But I have had few opportunities to meet people who are not only engrossed in their own passions, but who use those passions to help others. In his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King postulates that life does not support art; rather art supports life. The few I speak of see not others as supporting their passions, but their passions supporting others. Artist Lance Lucas is one of them, and he uses his art to help children suffering from various illnesses.
Lance is many things. He is an auto mechanic, a certified hemodialysis technician, a machinist/welder and, of course, and artist. For 12 years, he has worked at Walt’s Tire Factory while pursuing his passion for art.
Growing up, he was homeschooled and found himself with a lot of time on his hands; during which he often endeavored in the arts such as drawing and painting. “It was always a hobby and passion for me. I wasn’t ever concerned with becoming the next van Gogh; it was just what I liked doing,” he said.
For Lucas, his art has always been something he kept to himself. However, in the last couple of years, he has seen a growing interest in his work. Lance explained, “About a year ago, I was messing around with some paint on canvas when my brother said, ‘That’s awesome! What are you going to do with it?’ I told him I had no idea. He said, ‘I want that. I want to hang it up.’ I asked him if he was going to hang it in his house. He said, ‘Yeah, dude, I like it that much!’” Of course, then, his mom wanted one, and it progressed from there.
Lance focuses on the abstract, and he tailors the painting to the buyer. Having asked the buyer what he or she wants the painting to speak, he does a bit of research on colors and symbols and goes at it. “I do not want the buyer to tell me what they want me to paint them; rather I want them to tell me what feeling they want the painting to invoke within them. Different colors bring about different emotions and different symbols do the same,” he said.
Pursuing art as a hobby wasn’t enough for him, though, so he decided to donate 20% of his sales to St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital. But why St. Judes? Why the medical field? Both were questions not to go unanswered too easily!
A while back, Lance was at home cleaning a mirror when it fell. Seemingly still intact, he reached down to grab it. It shattered into three large pieces that filleted his fingers back. Alabaster bones exposed with no skin to cling to. Blood spurted and marooned the floor. And his hand, separated in two, made for a descent hand puppet, quite literally.
The medics took him to Providence St. Peters Hospital. There he was exposed to what would become another passion: the medical field. “Knowing that you’re being taken care of is a really good feeling. I really wanted to do something like that and be able to put people at ease,” he said.
Shortly after, he went to Clover Park Technical College to become a certified hemodialysis technician. After he graduated, he did an internship at DaVita Dialysis Center in Seattle. “It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. You don’t realize how much people are going through until you’re in the position of helping them get through the day,” he said. At that time he hadn’t the faintest idea his art would do just that only a while later.
After his schooling, he went back to work at Walt’s because Walt needed an addition to his crew.
His experience at St. Peters and his interest in the medical field has taken his art from a hobby to an instrument of healing. His most recent donation went to one-year-old Hayli who suffers from acute myeloid leukemia. Lance explained that there is no greater feeling than to see your work, your passion, help another human being.
For now, he isn’t entirely sure where his art is going to take him, but he would like to see it grow and help many more like Hayli. He recently purchased the domain name I.M.Artwork.com (Innovative Minds Artwork), and his next step is to launch this website to house his art.
Lance says, “Art is the ability to create a positive chain reaction that can outlive your life.” His work is eternal, and the canvas upon which he paints screams his passion in brilliant swirls of color. If you would like to see his work in person, it will be displayed at Mud Bay Coffee Company (1600 Cooper Point Rd SW) in Olympia from April 9th – April 16th.
If you would like to purchase his art work, you can contact him at LanceFLucas85@yahoo.com, and his website should be up and running within the next few months.
