Lucas Levitan
“Omule : Hi Lucas, what is like to be an illustrator?”
“Lucas : My parents gave me pens and pencils even before I could barely talk. Since then it became my way to communicate. When I was around 10 years old I told my dad I wasn’t interested in becoming a musician, I’d rather be an illustrator. He decided not to argue with a kid, so my music career finished before it even start. The only passion left was drawing. I’ve been drawing my entire life, but have kept my drawings hidden away while I was doing conceptual art projects and making my living as graphic designer and later as creative director in advertising.
In 2014, whilst standing on Redchurch Street in East London, a brick fell from the 4th floor scaffolding of a building site and missed me by millimeters. It made me think I should be doing more or what I love, drawing. It was a turning point.”
“Omule : Where do you get your inspiration from?”
“Lucas : I developed an obsession for reading. I do it everywhere, every spare moment of my day. When a friend goes to the toilet while we are having a beer, I don’t check my mobile, I read a page or two. It helps me to keep my reading plan up to date in a moment when reading is rare. At this moment books are my main source of inspiration. I find hard to get inspired after watching a movie or a series on TV. I like it, but it doesn’t help my mind to connect the content into an idea or a new image. Reading is the best way to see the world with a clear perspective and view point.”
“Omule : Can you remember some of your earliest influences? What about today? Who do you think is crushing it right now?”
“Lucas : There are many people who have influenced my work since young. I’m a huge fan of Gary Larson, American cartoonist and Laerte, a Brazilian one. They are genius in finding stories in almost everything. And of course I have to mention Bill Waterson, Saul Steinberg and Quino.
And what about today...I’m not sure. It’s been a while that I don’t see something that stop my eyes and twist my mind. This question includes a great task: find people who I admire as much as Laerte.”
“Omule : What is your ideal creative environment like? How is your process? Do you have any kind of creative patterns and routines?”
“Lucas : A routine can help the inspiration emerge. I love the feeling of an organized mess. Every morning I prepare my coffee or mate and read a bit. I like reading a few pages of a book in the morning it sets the tone of the day and awaken the brain to the day ahead. The material we produced is proportional to the content we absorb. Art, news, movies, literature, even taking an observational stroll through the neighbourhood can spark ideas and unblock difficult projects.”
“Omule : What would be a great achievement for you?”
“Lucas : A great achievement for me would be relax more, being less anxious. Meditation and yoga is helping me to achieve this great goal.”
“Omule : What do you love to do in your spare time? Do you have a favourite place to go on a holiday?”
“Lucas : Last year my answer to this question would be completely different. In the past 14 months my favorite thing to do is spend time with my baby daughter. I never realised how much a life could change by adding a new person to it. I see things in a new and better perspective. My days and nights are shorter, but they became more meaningful thanks to her.”
“Omule : Who is on the guest list for your ideal dinner party?”
“Lucas : George Orwell. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a fun dinner party, but a dinner to try to discover what is going on politically around the world.”
“Omule : What superpower would you like to have and why? Also , if you had the power, what would you forbid ?”
“Lucas : The superpower I would love to have is mind reading. I’m very curious to know how other people process their thoughts. What do happen inside other people’s mind? Imagine being able to understand the mind of artists such as Ai Weiwei, Olafur Aliasson, Marina Abramovich. For me it would be an incredible experience and a great learning tool. By knowing, however, what people truly think about myself might give me a great sense of apprehension and disquietude.”
“Omule : What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?”
“Lucas : It was an advice from my parents: Search for yourself and do what you love.”
“Omule : All in all ,what would be a great achievement for you?”
“Lucas : My greatest achievement was not having a clear and specific goal professionally and in life. I have ambitions that change time-to-time giving me the chance to adapt and readjust my path. It gives me a sense of freedom and amplify the chances of one day finding myself.”
