{"id":226816,"date":"2019-12-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/la-mesa-artist-brings-out-radiance-in-his-work\/"},"modified":"2019-12-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-20T08:00:00","slug":"la-mesa-artist-brings-out-radiance-in-his-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/la-mesa-artist-brings-out-radiance-in-his-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Artista de La Mesa saca a relucir 'Radiance' en su obra"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JOYELL NEVINS |\u00a0La Mesa Courier<\/p>\n

The Duke of Earl has come to downtown San Diego from Mt. Helix riding a wave of gold.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: artist Lester \u201cDuke\u201d Windsor is combining the intricacy of gold leaf with the rich colors of paint to showcase how the sunlight hits the backstreets of San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u201cRadiance\u201d is a solo exhibition featured at Sparks Gallery, housed within the historic Sterling Hardware Building, from December to March. Windsor, a Mt. Helix resident, had learned of owner and chief curator Sonya Sparks\u2019s vision of showcasing local professional artists, and submitted his work for inclusion in her space.<\/p>\n

His nickname comes from when he worked as a combat illustrator in the Marine Corps in the \u201870s and \u201880s. Windsor\u2019s Marine brothers used to chant the popular Gene Chandler lyrics as his \u2018theme song\u2019 when he walked into the barracks.<\/p>\n

\"La<\/a>
\u201cLemon Avenue\u201d is an acrylic and gold leaf on canvas painting depicting an early morning heading north toward Fuerte Drive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Windsor was designated with the MOS 4611 Combat Illustrator designator, attached to Combat Camera and the audio-visual support branch when he was on a base. His duties included working on the training support publication and senior officer portraits, media and television graphic production, and hand lettered signage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our graphic work was even before desktop publishing on a computer,\u201d he recalled. \u201cEverything was paste up, produced by hand. Definitely \u2018old school.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

His artistic days are even older than that, starting when Windsor began sketching battleships and airplanes at age five. He\u2019s incorporated multiple mediums since then, all while working as everything from an amateur rodeo cowboy, to San Diego Opera singer, to fourth degree black belt in Kempo martial arts. He opened his first art studio space in San Diego in 1994.<\/p>\n

Still glowing and growing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Windsor has been involved in art almost his entire life, he is still learning, discovering and creating \u2013 hence the addition of gold leaf to his designs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly love the journey the creative process offers. It is still 90 perspiration and 10% inspiration. My mind is always in that incubator session,\u201d he said, noting that, \u201cThe creative process is human. We are the only species that \u2018thinks\u2019 to create, whether it\u2019s art or a solution to a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

His fascination with gold leaf started with a gift of the material from an artist friend a few years ago. Windsor also pulled inspiration from the works of Gustav Klimt, and Russian iconic wood panels he saw at Timken Museum.<\/p>\n

\"La<\/a>
Golden Memories is a typical composite of alleys in La Mesa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe reverence and visceral experience I felt from the luminance of these traditional icon works further inspired me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Windsor describes gold as the \u201ccolor of extravagance, wealth, riches and excess,\u201d and a symbol of spirituality. Therefore, the gold leaf was a perfect complement to his \u201cGolden Skies\u201d series, which expressed the \u201cwonder and power of light\u201d in San Diego streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the art world, gold leaf techniques are often considered as merely decorative art,\u201d Windsor noted in his artist statement. \u201cMy goal is to advance gold leaf as a contemporary medium.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Radiance exhibition features both paintings and sculpture. Although Windsor notes that the \u201cpurely traditional\u201d method of making gold leaf from scratch can be intricate and detailed, he employs a more straightforward method with ready-made mediums and adhesive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe process is simple,\u201d he explains. \u201cPlan, prep, sketch the layout, apply size to a tack, apply leaf, brush, paint final image, buff and seal the finished work with varnish.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process may be \u2018simple,\u2019 but the results are exquisite. Windsor hopes to continue developing this series and method even after the Sparks exhibit run.<\/p>\n

The Treehouse of La Mesa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Windsor has lived and worked all over San Diego for the last 40 years, he currently creates in his art studio from his home in Mt. Helix.<\/p>\n

In 2014, Windsor and his partner were looking to purchase a home together. They were searching for a quiet, rural-like setting, with a view and a separate studio space \u2013 then inspiration struck.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy partner noticed a house with a stunning view called the \u2018Treehouse of La Mesa\u2019 in the paper,\u201d he described. \u201cWe went to check it out and found more than we expected. We found Mt. Helix beautiful, quiet, and with a charming rural, country-in-the-city feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were sold then, and five years later, they still love their \u201ccity in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Work with him<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want to explore the process of gilding in gold leaf yourself? You may not be able to visit his home studio, but you can register for the special workshop Windsor is hosting at Sparks from 6-8 p.m. on Jan. 29. Guests will be able to learn the history, tools, materials and techniques of applying gold leaf to artwork through both traditional and experimental methods. Tickets are required.<\/p>\n

You can also take workshops and courses with Windsor at Art on 30th Street, where he instructs in drawing and painting.<\/p>\n

Para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n visite sparksgallery.com<\/a>, call 619-696-1416, or visit arton30th.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Freelance writer Joyell Ne vins can be reached at joyellc@gmail.com<\/a>. Tambi\u00e9n puedes seguir su blog Small World, Big God en swbgblog.wordpress.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By JOYELL NEVINS |\u00a0La Mesa Courier The Duke of Earl has come to downtown San Diego from Mt. Helix riding a wave of gold. That\u2019s right: artist Lester \u201cDuke\u201d Windsor is combining the intricacy of gold leaf with the rich colors of paint to showcase how the sunlight hits the backstreets of San Diego. \u201cRadiance\u201d […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":826,"featured_media":226817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11548","_seopress_titles_title":"La Mesa artist brings out \u2018Radiance\u2019 in his work","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11548,11551,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-la-mesa-courier","category-news","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}