Meet Rhonda Lanclos of Rhonda Lanclos Fine Art in Sawyer Yards Arts District

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rhonda Lanclos.

Rhonda, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story evolves over time, I wanted to be an artist as a child, and went to school to reach that goal, but I met a dude, became a mother, and you know those stories, I also had a ‘spiritual’ experience that led me to become a nurse, therefore I was not to become an artist for nearly 25 years. So, fast forward to that point in time, where I begin to search how to make my art, art that resonates with my idea of beauty and purpose and you’ll find me desperately seeking instructors and classes for about 5 years. I had some very nice teachers here in Houston that began my career. However, I thought my drawing was going to have improved in 25 years, but it was the same cartoons I did in college. It took some effort with missteps, but I found Tony Ryder’s studio in Santa Fe, NM and began to study with him, his wife Celeste and his staff, John Reger. My drawing and painting began to leap. I began to see with the eyes of an artist. I also began to know what I didn’t know and realized the type of work I wanted to do was going to take a lot of focused, and repetitive practice, and it was going to take a long time! So, I had a fire and I began drawing at life groups every week, and have a painting of some kind going all the time. I now have a studio practice that involves painting as much as I can, sometimes 5 days a week and the only good day in the studio is 12 hours long, struggling to solve all the issues that representational painting requires, unfortunately, it takes A LOT of time. I have to say once I’m ‘in the zone’, there is no such thing as time.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t a smooth road, the first hurdles were born in that struggle to find a teacher that would not let me get off the path, show me HOW to draw and paint, and had an interest in helping me, and that was Tony Ryder. It was very difficult to travel to NM and expensive, and I was and am still working in Houston as an RN, where taking time off is very difficult, so no it wasn’t easy just to get the time, but I wanted it so bad and I knew it was the place for me, so I’d go to workshops during the summer, and intervals during the regular term at the Ryder Studio. I found Ryder on the Art Renewal Center website where you can find approved atelier style schools and Tony Ryder is considered a’ living master’ which probably makes him very uncomfortable since he is such a nice and humble guy too. I couldn’t go as often as I wanted to and that has been a great hindrance to my work developing fully, but I’ve got the basics and so I keep going forward!! I became rigid in my thinking that I had to have atelier style instruction or nothing else, and there are no ateliers in Houston. In Texas, there is the Texas Academy of Figurative Art in Fort Worth which is a very good school but again traveling and not being a full-time student but a working adult student could not be maintained, so I only went there for one semester as a part-time student. The next hurdles are the struggles that painting representationally poses, it’s not an option to paint a face to look like a donkey or a splatter of paint, it has to be executed thoughtfully. So just knowing how to draw, color, and paint application are issues that I just fight to overcome with every painting, then I fight the next puzzle. I’m complaining a lot but its truly the journey that I love.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Rhonda Lanclos Fine Art – what should we know?
I am an emerging representational painter specializing in figurative work and occasional portraits. I am available for commissions on a limited basis. I host life drawing and painting sessions in my Winter Street Studio on Tuesdays 2-5 with and without instruction. I am available for drawing and painting classes for beginners and intermediate level artists. I also host bachelorette parties that are a bit unique. I think I am in a special but small group of people that maintain the classical style and strive to portray the human figure in thoughtful, beautiful, but contemporary narratives. I personally feel we are in a new renaissance because this type of painting is becoming very popular all over the world, since a lot of the 20th century involved every art form under the sun and did not have a continuation of classical and traditional painting, so that resurgence is now since ateliers have been around for over 20 years. I am recently appointed an ambassador for Houston for the Portrait Society of America where I organize and host events within the organization’s mission to promote figure and portrait painting. I also host a podcast called Artists of Houston where I interview local artists and talk about the work they do and how they do it, you can listen on the website or on iTunes. My studio is open every 2nd Saturday 12-5 during our open studio event or by appointment, I’m happy to share what I’m working on over coffee anytime.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I have a pretty easy going personality, I believe life is very short, you should have a lot of FUN. I used to be a belly dancer and I’d introduce myself this way: Life is short, dancing is spiritual and laughing is beautiful, it’s been a while since I’ve used that, but I believe it today and think everyone should be dancing and laughing a lot more! Being a pediatric nurse for the last 33 years has taught me that, also, to not waste days on the little things and to care for the people around you and to care for yourself. We are very fortunate to be upright!

Contact Info:

• Address: 2101 Winter Street Studio 18
• Website: rhondalanclos@squarespace.com
• Phone: 713-298-4141
• Email: rhondaslounge@yahoo.com
• Instagram: rhondaslounge
• Facebook: Rhonda Lanclos

Image Credit:
All images are original works of Rhonda Lanclos Fine Art

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