Amber Larks: Studio Visit
Amber Larks
Los Angeles, CA
@amberlarks
“My studio space is a sanctuary of some sorts. I have to be completely alone to be able to really think, reflect, and create.”
INTERVIEW WITH AMBER LARKS AND LAURA DAY WEBB
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be an artist?
I’m an oil painter and a lot of what I paint explores the relationships between science, the human condition and the unknown with nods to sci-fi and surrealism. I’m mixed race and was not raised religious, so when I paint, I’m trying to make sense of questions like perception, belonging, purpose, and existence. I grew up in the suburbs of LA and art was always a constant in my life. My father is an artist and my parents supported and fostered my creativity early on. I remember they would tape butcher paper to our hallway so I could draw on the walls. In highschool, I got really into photography and that translates into how I paint today. Photography changed the way I view the world with lighting and composition. I took a lot of art classes in highschool and college, but never went the official art school route. I’m self taught in oil painting and still learning my way through the art world.
What is your approach to starting a new work?
My ideas for new works come when my mind is relaxed and my subconscious kicks in. Most of the time, I’ll be half asleep and see visions. I’ll wake up, grab my phone and sketch in my note app. I’ll also try to write notes for the overall feeling of the vision and what it could represent. I have loads of these saved in my phone and I’ll move forward to canvas with the ones I’m most excited about.
Do you listen to music when you are working and what do you listen to?
Always. Overall, I gravitate towards indie/alternative. Recently, there's been a lot of shoegaze. Some recent albums I’ve enjoyed are Launder’s “Happening” and Indigo de Souza’s “Any Shape You Take”.
What role does your studio space play in your practice?
My studio is a sanctuary of sorts. I have to be completely alone to be able to think, reflect, and create. Privacy is important to my practice, so I’m beyond grateful to have found my studio. I think it also holds me accountable. Sometimes, a lot of my ideas stay in the idea stage and never make it to canvas. Having a dedicated space where I show up for the sole reason of painting has been positive for sticking with my practice.
Are there any elements or objects in your studio setup that have special significance to you and your practice?
I have a neon pothos plant in my studio that makes me so happy. I got it from my past part time job working as a receptionist in downtown Seattle. It was on my work desk until the pandemic hit and everyone started working from home. I brought it home with me and when I found my studio, it became my studio plant. I have a soft spot for it because to me, it signifies my journey- from working in a corporate office to finding my first studio and growing as an artist. It also made the journey with my boyfriend and I during our recent move from Seattle to LA.
What are you working on now?
My work is going through an evolutionary phase right now. I’m at peace with that and letting it happen naturally. Moving last year uprooted my entire life, so it’s been a transitional time which has been tough on my mental health. I’ve been finding solace in science and art. My new works channel individual perception mixed with cosmic visuals and themes. The new NASA images and reading Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” have been on my mind lately. I’ve been exploring the dichotomy of my own existence and the human condition while also acknowledging its insignificance on a universal scale. These new works question the human mind as well as the unknowns of science. They center around mysterious glitches, shimmers, and waves of light and are a tribute to new possibilities, new perspectives, and new discoveries.
How did you come about your current studio? Any interesting, funny, dramatic, inspiring stories to share?
The studio pictured in this book was my first studio in Seattle. I found it through Craigslist, which is also how I found my current LA studio. I love the story of finding my Seattle studio because it felt like a movie. After months and months of looking, I was finding it very difficult and competitive to find good spaces. At one point, I got a bit desperate and was going to settle for a space in a corporate workspace building. I remember asking if I could paint the walls white instead of beige and they said no. A couple days before signing the lease, everything with the pandemic hit the fan; everything started shutting down and I thought I was going to lose my job. I backed out of signing the lease because it didn’t feel right anymore. Skip forward two months to April 21, 2020, and I’m touring a space I found on Craigslist. I show up to this converted warehouse and the studio manager who greets me is a guy with amazing, wild silver-gray hair sticking up like he just got electrocuted. When I asked how he was doing, he responded with, “Still recovering from 4/20”. Internally, I was like “Yup. This is the place”. He led me up the stairs to see the space. It was super dark and the artist before me was a hoarder so I could barely see the studio or walk around, but I had already imagined it as mine. The white walls, the original 1920s warehouse window- it was a magic moment. I also asked if I could paint the walls and he responded with, “Oh yeah- paint the walls, splatter paint, do whatever you want!”. I signed the lease that day.