We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alex Lederman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alex, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
It took 1 year of oil painting classes post-college for me to figure out that my Bachelor of Art Degree was completely unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, college wasn’t a complete waste of money. I learned about time management, networking, social skills, and the joys of the Blick Art Supply store. Perhaps my experience would have been more beneficial had I gone to an art school rather than a liberal arts university. Ultimately, I now know that spending thousands of dollars on an art degree isn’t a guarantee to become a better artist. Sometimes all it takes is signing up for an oil painting class in a local art supply store.
Like most high school students, I was convinced that earning a degree in college was absolutely necessary to make a good living. I knew I wanted to be the best at painting people’s horses and that meant the medium I needed to focus on studying was oil paint. I was so hungry to learn all I could about how to use the medium to create highly detailed, visually dazzling artwork that would bring joy to other people. However, my 4 years of majoring in studio art felt very isolating. I did the best I could to make every project I worked on relevant to what I ultimately wanted to do but in terms of learning painting techniques, I found myself learning how to manage my frustration and anger more so than the varying qualities and consistencies of oil paint. Focusing on such a niche subject matter also seemed to be a little unnerving to some of the professors and students. After graduating college, I felt so defeated. Was this it in terms of learning my craft? My professors always encouraged the art major students to pursue their Masters in Fine Art but the thought of another 4 years of spending thousands of dollars where I would probably be teaching myself just sounded like a nightmare. Thankfully my parents encouraged me to sign up for a series of oil painting classes taught at a small, local art supply store. I was definitely skeptical going in. How could this small class offer anything beneficial compared to the 4 years I just completed? That class ended up being one of the best things for my career as an artist.
The class wasn’t a year long but I continued signing up for a little over a year (until 2020 shut everything down) because I was learning so much and found myself loving to paint again. The students in the series of classes I took all had varying levels of skill that ranged from beginners with no experience with oil paint to seasoned artists that continued to take the class for continued education. My teacher explained to me all the varying qualities of oil paint, how to understand descriptions on paint tubes, how the old masters applied strategic layers of oil paint to achieve realistic human skin and vibrant colors, and so much more. She gave me a list of books to read about the techniques of the old masters, one of which gave me so much comfort in knowing that even the old masters utilized technology like mirrors and lighting to help make their drawing/painting process more efficient (Secret Knowledge by David Hockney).
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have always thought of myself as being more of an equestrian than an artist. I’d rather go watch Grand Prix Show Jumping or a rodeo on a Saturday night than go to a fancy art exhibition. My passion for all things horses began when I started riding lessons at ten years-old when my parents signed me up for one of those horseback riding summer day camps. Art classes were my favorite in school because I could transform my inner passion for horses into beautiful images on paper and canvas. I loved to push my technical drawing and painting skills with each piece I created with the goal of impressing myself and other people. I went to college with the very niche goal of becoming an excellent equestrian artist that could create work that rivalled those done by artists featured in my favorite equestrian lifestyle magazines.
Horseback riding and painting started out as fun hobbies but became crucial coping mechanisms for easing my struggles with severe anxiety and depression. When you’re working with horses, you must be completely aware of the present moment or you risk getting stepped on or thrown off. And when you’re deeply immersed in painting, your world becomes smaller because all your focus is on the canvas surface. Whether with a horse or physically painting, being in the zone quiets the mind, makes the world a little less complicated, and reminds us that peace awaits us in the present moment. My business, Lederman Art & Design, was created as a coping mechanism for anxious equestrians like myself with the goal to manifest the joy, peace, and even a little comic relief that horses bring us into timeless works of art.
I follow an old school oil painting technique called glazing where I layer transparent colors over opaque paint that ultimately creates complex and luminous colors not attainable by mixing paint on a palette. It’s a process the Old Masters used to create delicate and realistic details much like layering stained glass. Although the layering process is very time-consuming, the hours of work are worth it when a vibrant painting with rich shadows is created. In addition to glazing, one of my favorite new materials to add to oil paintings is metallic leaf. I’ve designed 8 of my paintings so far with 24k gold, silver, and copper leaf because I love the way light reflects off the metallic details and changes the way the painting looks depending on the lighting of the room. Each viewer gets a unique experience of the piece throughout the day.
While I still offer custom and original oil paintings, drawings, and giclee prints, my shop now includes waterproof stickers of my art and new cheeky, anxious equestrian-inspired designs for your laptop, water bottle, or wherever you place your stickers. My goal is to eventually offer stationary and cozy apparel to the mix so people have a variety of ways to treat themselves to things that make them smile. Another update to my Lederman Art & Design website is a beautiful, twice-a-month email subscription series I proudly named EQ & Sketch where I offer equestrian-focused anxiety coping strategies, recipes for humans or horses (like gingerbread cookies that double as horse treats), upcoming collections, featured artwork, and so much more.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn that the art I create doesn’t have to have a deep meaning that addresses some sort of political, social, or philosophical agenda. Creating art that makes me happy and brings joy to other people does not make me any less of an artist and does not lower the value of my work.
I studied drawing and painting for 4 years in college and the primary subjects for my work tended to be horses. Going into college I knew I wanted to make a living off of painting people’s horses and pets so I was eager to practice drawing them as much as I could. Being an art major in college was frustrating at times because I was surrounded by people that just didn’t understand my fixation on horses. Professors and students would give me judgmental looks in class for presenting yet another drawing or painting of a horse. I ended up getting more support and recognition from the department I minored in (Equine Business Management) than I ever did from the Art Department. Those 4 years made me realize that the art I create is for people like myself and not for people that have never felt the sense of warmth and joy when in the presence of a horse.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I took an online course called Making Art Work by Emily Jeffords that tremendously helped me navigate running a business as an artist. I highly recommend signing up for that class when she has it available because the knowledge, resources, and interviews with successful creatives provided me with so much helpful information that I find myself returning to for reference when I’m feeling lost or unmotivated.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ledermanart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lederman.art.and.design
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lederman.art.and.design
- Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ledermanart
Image Credits
Kelsey Keathly at Norfleet Marketing & Photography