Interview
Lindsey Hampton
In a world forcing everyone to condition into “model” citizens while still requiring them to be original, it is no wonder to Lindsey Hampton that people lose their faith in who they are or where they are going. She is not looking to find the all-saving solution, but rather to explore what it means to be a human in an unconditioned environment. No human leaves this world unscathed, so Lindsey continues to chase the sources to learned behaviors from this conditioning world. Through the language of oil paintings and charcoal drawings, she invites her audience in her exploration of human conditioning and the desperate need to feel human.
Lindsey Hampton is an emerging artist in Pensacola, Florida, USA. In August 2019, Lindsey graduated from the University of West Florida with her bachelor’s in fine arts degree in studio arts with a specialization in oil painting. During her time at UWF, she worked as a wood and metal shop technician while participating as a founding member to the Kappa Alpha Chapter of the Kappa Pi International Art Honor Society. She later took on the VP of Community Service position in 2017 and Treasurer in 2018, to further her impact in her immediate art community. Since 2017, her artwork has been displayed in several exhibitions, including The Irish Experience Pop-up Exhibit in the St. Mary’s Church of Carlow Town, Ireland, the Pensacola Arts Museum’s Annual Members’ shows, and The Artel’s Gallery “Go Figure” show. In 2021, Lindsey shipped a miniature collection of her work to the Brooklyn Library’s Vol. 17 Sketchbook Collection. Furthermore, she has been published in Ballinger Publishing’s Downtown Crowd paper for the March 2021 issue “5 Questions with Creatives Lindsey Hampton” and the July 2021 issue “Supporting Local Artists at the Pensacola Arts Market”. Each article highlights a particular perspective of Lindsey’s experience of being a figure painter in the Pensacola local market scene.
Currently, you can find Lindsey Hampton at Pensacola’s Gallery Night art walk under the pen name A Sunflowerdaze every third Friday of the month while she continues to rebuild her portfolio for larger exhibitions. Her eyes are set on travel and maintaining her status as an internationally showcasing artist.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I have been creating for as long as I can remember. However, it was not until I had to select a major in my sophomore year in college, that I began to pursue art professionally. In fact, it was during an art history class at Pensacola State College when I realized that the world made more sense through the lens of an artist and art historian.
Once I transferred to the University of West Florida, I committed to the deep dive of a bachelor’s in fine arts major. I also worked as a woodshop technician for the art department and helped found and lead the UWF Alpha Chapter of the Kappa Pi International Art Honor Society. To wrap up my experience at UWF, I graduated with the Irish Experience Study Abroad program. It was through this program I was able to debut as an internationally showing artist at the St. Mary’s Church in Carlow Town, Ireland.
Since graduating in 2019, I have been testing the waters as a local freelance Pensacola Artist. Primarily a figure oil painter, I decided to take my work to the streets at our local Gallery Night art walk every third Friday while occasionally submitting works to Artel Gallery for their exhibition prompts.”
What inspires you most?
“It may sound a bit cliché, but my main inspirations come from people and interpersonal interactions. There is just something so alluring about human nature and how people influence one another. Right now, my curiosity is hooked on self-actualization with a subtopic of suspension and the experience of emerging in our current state of existence.”
“Like an author with their published works, I want to offer a different way of looking at the world we have built for ourselves.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“Well, as I am sure the previous question reveals, my themes tend to be a bit existential for a 24 year old. (At least that is what other people say.) To reiterate, I care about our physical existence and how it impacts the world around us. Though I would argue that people are all but a ‘blip’ in the overarching timeline, our influence on our immediate chapter of humanity has innate value. I want to celebrate this and call attention to all its intricacies.
Further, I want to help others pause, reflect, and leave with a new perspective. I utilize my completed works as conversation starters, or rather ice breakers, for the themes I think people need to consider more often.”
How would you describe your work?
“Often born or guided with one-word themes, my figural works are painted in a traditional manner with a touch of abstraction or surrealism when the concept calls for them. Movement in my paintings are directed by the thicker impasto strokes. As for my color pallet, I typically resort to a Venetian Red, Prussian Blue, and Naples Yellow. Although recently, I have been inviting more saturated hues into my color pallet.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Honestly, I am influenced by various types of artists – tattoo artists, sculptures, calligraphers, etc. – as they all have something to teach me. However, if I must only speak of a few from a historical and contemporary perspective, I would say Claude Monet, the Baroque period, and Jamel Akib (@jamel_akib). Claude Monet’s use of optical illusions with color and shape has a large influence in my love for making the medium work for the artist in simple strokes while allowing the lines between objects to bleed into one another. The Baroque time period taught me the importance of dramatic contrast and moody, dark tones. Jamel Akib offers an alternative way to explore my subject matter with a saturated color pallet and a directional blurring effect to exemplify movement.”
What is your creative process like?
“Typically, I begin with extensive brainstorming of a theme on human nature. Either I will refine the original idea or diverge into a more potent subcategory of that idea. Afterwards, I run through various sketches to configure composition, color pallet, photo reference, and a general plan of progression of the piece. This is around the time I will decide on sizing and how long the piece will take to finish.
From here, I build my canvas by hand. Once all stretcher strips are stapled together and the canvas, cut to size, has been secured to the stretched stripes, I treat the surface to at least three layers of gesso. The gesso layers are sealed with a matte medium before the first layer of oil paints can be applied. From here, the painting process begins. I will start with a single layer to outline my subjects and color block the warm and cool undertones.
Over the course of several weeks, I engage in the natural push and pull of the oil paint medium to bring my works to final fruition. Throughout the entire process, I go back and forth from painting to expanding on research of the concept of the work to allow space for the theme to naturally develop and change as necessary. Hanging wire is installed on the back of the works once everything is completely dry. However, this may be delayed and later attached to a handmade frame if requested.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist’s role in society is to educate the world. Much like our predecessors before us, artist’s record history in the making. Regardless of timeline, people always have humanitarian issues to discuss in evolving perspectives politically, morally, and socially. Artists have the ability to vocalize in a visual language how the world is doing and what people can do to further shape it to fit society’s evolving needs. Especially with the advancements of digital technology, I can foresee artists’ visual languages traveling further, faster, and impacting so many more than before.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“The most noteworthy exhibitions I had the pleasure of participating in were the two group Irish Experience exhibitions from my study abroad program back in 2019. The first exhibition was my debut as an international showing artist in the St. Mary’s Church in Carlow Town, Ireland. It was a group exhibition of works my fellow classmates and I made in response to the people and places we encountered. It was incredible to learn about and share work based on another country’s culture and everyday nuances.
It was even more endearing to bring it home to the Irish Experience student show in the Tagged Gallery at the University of West Florida. My classmates and I had additional space in the gallery to display our travel gear and artistic processes with the rest of our peers and faculty. These exhibitions gave me the space to reflect on my time in Ireland. They revealed to me how I could adapt my work to be constantly available even if I committed primarily to travel and creating.”
