Where Are We
Eager to Please
Don’t Leave Me
Transition
Interview with the Artist:
Ashley Holloway (AH): Hi, Serge Lecomte! Thanks for taking some time with Unleash. We were thrilled to share your narrative with our audience. Can you tell us a little about your journey as an artist?
SL: I began my career as a writer back in High School when I won a poetry declamation contest in 1963. I went on to write poetry and in 1990 Alaska the Last Frontier was born. In 1991, Crimson Rice, Vietnam Vignettes was published by the Librado Press. I went on to publish more poetry in over a hundred magazines. I was also poetry editor for Paper Radio (now defunct). I then graduated to novels, several of which were published by print-on-demand publishers. I gave up writing to paint in 2018 and I have had more fun and success publishing my work as a painter than I did as a writer. Over 200 of my works have appeared in print in several countries. I am enjoying the creation of creatures that pop out of my head in the morning.
AH: OK, so I need to ask. What are your thoughts on generative artificial intelligence used in art?
SL: I think they create some very interesting pictures, very smooth, but quite repetitive depending on the artist. Their productions give me and past artists a very primitive look. I would never want to use such programs for painting. I love the contact of brush, paint canvas. People choose whatever tools they want to create. AI is a tool.
AH: Now, I know you are an artist, but what book is sitting on your bedside table right now?
SL: Pinocchio in Italian language.
AH: Can you describe your creative process for us?
SL: That's a very tricky question. I get up, wash up, get dressed, have coffee, and stare at the canvas for a bit since I have an idea for the creation itself. Since I don't do representational art, creatures and their surroundings have to come from my head along with the theme, if there is one. Sometimes the brush takes a turn I hadn't planned and a surprise emerges.
AH: In your mind, what are the most important elements of creativity?
SL: Having enough money to buy paints and canvasses. And being satisfied with the outcome on paper or canvas.
About the Artist:
Serge Lecomte was born in Belgium. He came to the States where he spent his teens in South Philly and then Brooklyn. After graduating from Tilden H. S. he joined the Medical Corps in the Air Force. He earned an MA and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in Russian Literature with a minor in French Literature. He worked as a Green Beret language instructor at Fort Bragg, NC from 1975-78. In 1988 he received a B.A. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Spanish Literature. He worked as a language teacher at the University of Alaska (1978-1997). He worked as a house builder, pipe-fitter, orderly in a hospital, gardener, landscaper, driller for an assaying company, bartender.