Who is your favorite artist?

I never have one favorite artist, for me it's more about favorite qualities that I find in artists of all kinds. In the sculptor Bernini I found everyday fabric turned into a spiritual force, in Rembrandt I found brushstrokes that created transitions seeming somehow both painterly and flawlessly rendered at the same time. In other artists I might find a color palette I want to replicate, or a feeling I want to portray. I try to be "open source" about how I improve and grow as an artist, and that often means fine tuning the whole of my technique or composition with many pieces from many artists.

What themes do you find most interesting?

I am very interested in the theme of humans depicted in a way that tells us a secret about ourselves. I feel like this theme is only successfully realized when this secret is passed on as something only partially understood, like a metaphor leading us to something new.

What’s your background? Do you have a formal art education or are you self taught?

I graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art with a bachelor's in painting. I've also studied abroad in Florence, Italy, at SACI, and studied with the painter Odd Nerdrum at his studios in Iceland and Norway. This formal education ceased around 2005, but continuing to learn did not. I believe any artist wanting to continue growing must become self taught along the way. At a certain point there just isn't anyone there that knows how to do the new thing I want to do; this is a little intimidating, but also very rewarding to finally make that headway on my own.

What are your ideal conditions for working on your art?

For me the key to getting quality work done is routine. Like Flaubert once said, "Be regular and orderly in your life so that you can be revolutionary and original in your work". This means getting to my work early in the day, having prepared meals and snacks beforehand, having slept well, and knowing why I'm excited and grateful to be working on whatever is on my easel. Obviously there are ups and downs to obtaining the ideal working conditions, and I try to never be overly obsessive about feeling "off" if my sleep wasn't perfect, or there's some distracting noise. Ultimately, I find that if I make it a habit to create harmony and balance in my life, then I'm more likely to have the resiliency to push forward when things aren't perfect.

What is your dream project?

I have several dream projects that I'd love to get working on as soon as possible. One of these would be a large format horizontal painting titled Aletheia, which would feature a female figure wrapped in various colors of cloth. Much of the aesthetic would be very much like my Quantum Baroque series, with the figure echoed, and an expansive landscape behind the figure as opposed to just sky. This painting would represent the Greek idea of aletheia, of "unconcealing" truth.

“Sy”, oil on canvas ~ part of the Quantum Baroque series

What do you do when you’re not inspired?

There are times I feel either a lack of inspiration or get the feeling of being burned out. When I feel like I'm not inspired it almost always means that I'm not making time for what I call soul restoring things. This can be hiking and camping, writing, reading something that inspires me, re-expressing my purpose, or getting together with people I love. Usually I've just been working too much and the lack of these soul restoring things starts draining me. I may have plenty of energy, but the inspiration/love isn't quite there, and I need to get it back. Other times when I feel burned out it's usually because I've not been sleeping enough, slacking on my diet, or just working too much. Oddly enough I can feel burned out but still be inspired at the same time, in fact sometimes too much inspiration leads me to feel burned out, and I need to take a break from the studio, sleep, make time to exercise, make time to rest, and just do something else to give my painter brain a break.

Should art be publicly funded?

I can see arguments both for and against this, but I would definitely say yes. We all know that public art sometimes results in monstrosities, but I think the more we fund art, the more we choose to create a world based on poetry rather than one based on efficiency and calculation. I believe efficiency and calculation have a valuable place, but they tend to take precedence in defining our experience of the world when there is no public funding of art. I'd rather see them support an enriching human experience than limit our everyday life to a calculable workflow.

What role do you think the artist has in today’s society?

I see the role of the artist as someone that reveals what it is to be human, what it is to exist and "be". This can take on many forms, traditional and otherwise. I think the artist should strive to create artworks that in turn create worlds all their own. By this I mean artworks that stop us in our tracks and reveal a truth to us. Art is about defining the difference between what is true, and what is correct. Though 2+2 is correct, it is not a truth; a truth is an unquantifiable feeling of being present in a way that could not have happened without standing before that work of art, that poem, that painting. In short, I think the role of the artist is to prove Hegel wrong, and restore art to its place as a world creating force.

If you could have a superpower, what would you have and why?

The one superpower I would have is to be able and see the full spectrum of color. As of right now I'm red/green colorblind, which makes being a painter very interesting. I've enjoyed overcoming and working with the many challenges this presents, but at some point I'd like to see what it's like to really see. Gene therapy has been able to make this a reality thanks to the work of Jay and Maureen Neitz who have developed a procedure to regrow the color cones directly in the eye. I'm looking forward to the FDA approving their work, and hopefully being able to experience this superpower.

“The Annunciation of Mary”, oil on canvas

Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were an artist?

The defining moment in my life where I knew I was an artist is something that occurred to me in hindsight. It was when, in a moment of complete self doubt, I knew I was not an artist. I knew I was just a hack at best, and that I would not be taken seriously. Along with this devastating feeling was the desire to still see the artwork realized as a painting, and to continue on towards making my vision a reality regardless of my self doubt. Looking back at this moment I realized that my love and belief in the work itself created a new kind of space in me that is protected from the highs and extreme lows of everyday life. I think that the creation of this space, through the love and need of our work, is in part what makes us all artists.

What couldn’t you do without?

I couldn't do without my very beautiful, talented, love. She can deadlift 235 lbs at a weight of 108, which blows my mind, and she's gorgeous and ever so lovely.

Francesco Lombardo available work