InvasiveThoughts.com

One of the featured artists at the Invasive Thoughts Party at Ruta Maya on December 5th was painter Lawrence Trujillo. The event space wasn't exactly as we had expected, but Trujillo was ever resourceful. When wall space was determined to be quite questionable, Trujillo improvised: The next day he returned with wire and nail and hung his paintings from the ceiling against the background of a bright yellow concrete wall to the right of the stage. (Thankfully, Ruta Maya is very reasonable about allowing artists to create space out of thin air, so to speak.)

One thing I have always enjoyed, since meeting Trujillo, is his willingness to explain his paintings, his art. I've spent much time standing before his oil and acrylic pieces with him at various shows, listening to his thoughtful explanations of time and space in regard to color and form. (Kandinsky, who is one of my favorite painters of abstraction, has entire books about his philosophies of and meanings behind the Iine, color, and form that he used in his paintings.)  

And I often ask Trujillo about his techniques; and he is just as willing to explain the mediums as he is the meanings. But, I am always disappointed when I come across an artist who has become so contemptuous or disillusioned that he or she has no desire left to speak of the inspiration and meaning behind creation. There is, of course, much value to allowing an observer to glean understandings without immediately giving an interpretation, but there is also much gained from understanding the motivations from the perspectives of the artists. So, Trujillo is quite refreshing in this regard, as he has none of the saturated bitterness that can often be peeled like skin from a banana off many great artists. He remains thoughtful. Ever striving to attain in form and color the philosophies of space and time that he holds and feels within. And perhaps, his periodic sojourns back to his native New Mexico help to keep Mr. Trujillo inspired.

Another thing perhaps that helps to keep Trujillo inspired and motivated and moved to speak so easily of his works is his teaching. Each Saturday morning, he rises early to arrive at the teaching studio where he guides the young and eager minds that sit or stand before him and their easels, in the art of art. So, he is practiced, you could say, at explaining art and at cultivating meaning from creation. And he is in turn motivated again by the invigorated spirit of the youth.