Bear World Magazine
Interview with Saul Lyons
When did you first discover you were good at art?
I figured out I could draw and paint very late- at 45 years old. I was a fashion designer for several years in my 30s and also dabbled in digital fine art, so I knew I could design and photograph and tinker with clothes and images until they looked interesting, but I really believed the craft of drawing and painting was beyond me. I was one of those people who said “I can't even draw a stick figure.” I didn't get to a level I considered good until this year, really. I was doing these very colorful paintings of flowers and people that were charming and fun. My father was out for a visit and I showed them off to him. He's a professor and very critical. A sweetheart, but very critical. He said, “they are interesting, too bad you can't do faces...” I was so annoyed with his comment, I drew a face a day for over a year and finally got to a level I think is “good”. It actually doesn't have to do with technical ability anymore, good in my mind is about being able to get across the intensity and warmth in a face or a figure and the adoration for it I have.
When did you take it up full-time?
Art has been my full-time career now for a year or so. It's been a step by step process. First I just dabbled in it. Then I had a lot of encouragment by my husband and some friends. Then some curators and artist friends added their support. Then I took a few risks and got in a couple group shows, in New Hope, PA and in London. I've recently opened a small studio and gallery where I work and show my work and others', That's been fun because I like leaving my house to go to work and create my art in a space designed for that... rather than my kitchen.
What inspired you to take up art?
A friend of mine who is very wise noticed that I was lost in my head, filled with worry and fears about the world and the future. He told me I needed to do something personal and fun and creative. I have a degree in writing and said, “ok, I'll write”. He said, “NO! Don't write. You'll just go further into your head. You should paint.” I said, “I can't paint. I can't even draw a stick figure right.” He said, “Just paint.”, So my husband, Keith, bought us a few sets of paint-by-numbers. And we sat in the kitchen and listened to the Serial Podcast and did paint by numbers together. And it was a total blast. I finished first and had a lot of left over paint. So while Keith spent another month or two finishing his super complex paint by numbers, and we listened to podcasts, I used the leftover paint and just went with my imagination...
Saul and his husband, Keith
What is your main inspiration for the drawings and paintings you do?
It's all about my love of affectionate masculinity. The last several months have been about expressing warmth and heart iand intense affection for the masculine in nudes, faces, kisses and embraces.
Where can people see your art?
I have a studio and gallery in New Hope, PA that is covered with hairy naked bearded guys. I also show other work there as well. I have a website www.saullyons.com with galleries dedicated to my paintings and drawings. This coming summer I will be featured on Adamsnest.com and in Adam's Provincetown gallery. I also post frequently on Instagram. I'm @saul_lyons on there.
Where would you like your art to go in the future?
I hope to keep growing and making leaps. The plan is to take my drawing skills into oil painting. I think over the next couple of years I will be working on projects that take longer to complete. Right now, I do drawings daily that take 2-3 hours to finish and I am usually working on 1 or 2 paintings that take longer- acrylics that take a day or two and oil paintings that can take a lot longer. I am working on my technique and am hoping to work on larger pieces on canvas. Right now my largest pieces are 24' X 24” and I'd like to create a work that tells a whole story that is more like 4' X 6'. As far as subject matter, I am not planning on making any changes- my heart tells me what I want to paint in the moment. If I get too cerebral about it, something magical gets drained out of the work.
Do you see yourself as a member of the bear community?
Yes, for sure. My husband and I call each other “bear” as a common nickname. I've felt welcomed and part of the bear community in bars, clubs and events in the New York and Los Angeles areas for many years. I don't go out much anymore, especially since I moved to a small town on the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border, but I do identify as a bear, if anything.
How can art help in the current political climate? Are you inspired by it to do more or are you worried it will be suppressed?
I realized one day when I was drawing a couple of middle aged guys kissing that there just aren't many drawings and paintings of that kind of affection out there. So, a lot of people are actually really taken aback when they stumble into my gallery expecting landscapes and flowers and abstracts to put in their newly remodeled bathrooms. But then they kind of relax and get into what they are looking at. I'm talking tourists in New Hope- middle aged straight couples, families, old ladies... I think it kind of says to the world, we bearsy gay guys are not a dark secret to be furtively cowering somewhere in a dark corner. We make for the same quality art and joy as any family, and are as beautiful as any landscape. This political climate is the worst it's been in my whole life. I hate the news. I hated the Bush era too, and I was a teenager in the 80s during the Reagan years, but there's something extra awful about now. I'm angry about some new piece of news every day. So are most of my friends. I hope my artwork is working against the terrible divisiveness that is going on in our country. I hope people who see my art feel more comfortable with a group of people they might have been intimidated by or wanted to marginallize. Art in general can provoke, can educate, can inspire and hopefully can transcend this type of political situation. I am working directly from my heart, so I am not sure if I would do any more or less artwork if the political situation were different. I'm thinking of having a show in Kentucky this summer for a pride festival there and I wonder how my work will go over there in such a red red state. I live in a very liberal, progressive town and I have shown only in places like New York and London and those places feel pretty much “on my side”... I grew up in rural Wisconsin, however, and I do know that when I go back and visit, I do have an impact on the people in that community, a very positive one, just by being a basically happy, well adjusted, nice guy who happens to be a married gay man who is sex positive and not ashamed of my body or of bodies in general. I've had people say to me, “you are the first gay guy I have really talked to and you have changed the way I look at gay people.”
What advice would you give to someone thinking of either taking art up or who has just started out?
I think it's a good idea to really create what you want to at first and not worry about what you “should” be doing. I think it's important that it is a fun thing to to do and very engaging. And then you can tackle things that are difficult and boring as you go along. And do it every day.
What plans do you personally have for the future?
One thing keeps leading to another. I had no idea 3 years ago that I'd even be an artist at all. Last year, I had no idea I'd have a gallery. I'm looking forward to more group shows, making friends with more artists, and hopefully collaborating in my gallery with some interesting artists and putting on some great shows here. And, of course, drawing and painting a lot of beautiful men.