INTERVIEW
Art created in the still corners of our lives: Leonard Koscianski interviewed by Gil Dekel
10 December 2024 – Vol 2, Issue 4.
Gil: Your work portrays a sense, or desire, for a quieter life.
Leonard: My life is quiet—sometimes, perhaps, too quiet. Suburbia is a tranquil place, and I appreciate that calmness. Commotion tends to cause me anxiety, while inspiration often visits during my quieter moments. I believe art is created in the still corners of our lives. That’s why I keep my phone as far away from me as possible when I’m painting.
I often think back to my mother’s gentle scolding: “Rusty, you’re always sitting in a corner reading a book. Go outside and make some friends”.
‘Birds of a Feather’, by Leonard Koscianski. Oil on canvas. 42″ x 26″. 2024.
Gil: Much of your work is set from a high angle, looking down – maybe trying to look inside, and find a safe space. How do you decide on such vantage points, and are you influenced by maps?
Leonard: Yes, aerial views are an influence. I love the overhead view in Grant Wood’s ‘Midnight Ride of Paul Revere’, as well as the paintings of John Rogers Cox.
Influencing Leonard: ‘The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere’, by Grant Wood. Oil on Masonite. 76 cm × 100 cm. 1931. Image in public domain.
I love paper maps. They force one to view the world from above. GPS map reading apps are convenient but rob us of an important way of viewing the world. As a Boy Scout, I learned to navigate the forest with a map and compass.
Gil: You often use dark settings, with an illuminated glow, such as the glow of pools at night, or light coming from houses. What does that glow mean to you?
Leonard: At night, light signifies warmth and safety. In contrast, darkness can evoke feelings of fear and uncertainty. What appears harmless during the day can seem threatening at night. Moonlight creates distortions and illusions, presenting a misleading image. Sunlight, on the other hand, provides clarity and precision to our perception, dispelling many of our fears.
‘The Food of Love’, by Leonard Koscianski. Oil on canvas. 42″ x 26″. 2021.
Gil: You mentioned you just saw the image of ‘The Midnight Hour’ in your head. You just had to then paint it. Where do these internal images ‘come’ from?
Leonard: Good question. I don’t know where they come from, but I’m glad they do. I’ve been having visionary experiences since I was 16. People are walking up and down the streets of Annapolis with visions and ideas in their heads, but how many are willing to devote the time and effort to bring those to life?
‘The Midnight Hour’, by Leonard Koscianski. Oil on canvas. 42″ x 26″. 2024.
Gil: You’ve also mentioned that a painting is a symbol that viewers should be able to project themselves into.
Leonard: People often write to me expressing the desire to live in one of my paintings. The paintings resonate with viewers on a deep emotional level, but that isn’t my intention. I have a certain scepticism towards “intention”. Artists often don’t fully understand their work, quite literally. Creating a painting involves the whole body and mind, and there is too much for the conscious mind to track. I continue to paint until the piece “feels” right to me. However, I recognize that I always fall short to some extent, which leads me to start another painting.
Gil: Your work is surreal, blending the appearance of things with your feelings and imagination. How do you balance these elements?
Leonard: I don’t try. Balance is achieved when I have a feeling of “rightness” about the work. This is how paintings talk to me. On an intuitive level, a painting affects me emotionally. If the painting I’m working on isn’t right, I feel anxious and look for problem areas; working on it is painful and hard. On the other hand, if all is going well, painting is blissful.
That feeling of “rightness” (an intuition) is cultivated over years of looking at thousands of paintings. I was a museum guard for two years, and it developed my intuition. Plus, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to grow up with artwork at home. It doesn’t have to be great artwork either.
‘Cloud Illusions’, by Leonard Koscianski. Oil on canvas. 28″ x 48″. 2022.
Gil: Intuition is an internal faculty. You mentioned that the combination of internal and external gives us a more complete truth.
Leonard: Yes, my idealized paintings attempt to combine external and internal experiences. Our minds operate on a few levels. According to Carl Jung, they can also serve as conduits for ideas beyond ourselves. Photographic reality is inherently incomplete; our experiences encompass far more than what a single photo can convey.
For instance, when you mentioned an illuminated swimming pool at night, a photograph alone cannot capture its essence. Beyond the glowing blue water and the darkened trees framing stars, there is the chlorine scent of the water and its coolness against our skin. Additionally, there are the sensual implications of people in wet swimsuits, the feel of their damp skin, and the sound of their voices. Sounds take on a unique quality over water, especially at night when the world is quiet.
‘Her Morning Run’, by Leonard Koscianski. Tempera on panel. 24.5″ x 15″. 2020.
Gil: Have films influenced your work?
Leonard: I love stories. I like movies, and love Shakespeare and novels. I spent the last year reading the Victorian novels of Anthony Trollope. I read ‘Tom Jones’ (600 pages) twice. I was stunned and rendered speechless by Flannery O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man Is Hard To Find’. I always wanted to be a storyteller and write great novels, but I wasn’t given that talent…
At a Glance:
Art = Internal (Emotions, Visions) + External (Senses, Literature).
Artistic expression draws from internal emotions and visions, and the external world of sensory experiences and literary narratives.
© Journal of Creativity and Inspiration.
Art © Leonard Koscianski.
Image of art by Grant Wood in public domain.
Leonard Koscianski is an American visionary painter, exhibiting worldwide. Leonard was a student of R. Buckminster Fuller, and noted American painter Wayne Theibaud. He obtained his MFA degree from the University of California, Davis.
Gil Dekel is a doctor in Art, Design and Media, specialising in processes of creativity and inspiration. He is a scholar, designer, visionary artist, Reiki Master/Teacher, and co-author of the ‘Energy Book’. Dr. Dekel is an Associate Lecturer at the Open University. In 2022 he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Coin, in recognition of his dedication and commitment to pastoral work in the UK.
