Today we’d like to introduce you to Lenny Foster.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My creative journey began in 1991 when I bought a second hand camera in a Pawn shop a few blocks down from where I co-managed the sales department at a Honda car dealership in Alexandria, Va. From the first roll I shot with that Pentax, I was enthralled with the process of making pictures! I taught myself as much as I could while being behind the camera, and studied on my own about the process of making exceptional imagery. Almost three years later, I took a trip the Southwest to help a friend who was looking to relocate. I was excited at the prospect of seeing the Southwest and making imagery in the three states that we would visit.
Six months after the epic trip, I was driving a haul with my belongings and my car in tow, out to New Mexico to pursue what would be The Artistic Life! It was there that I learned my craft through making thousands of picture and hundreds of mistakes. What did happen, though was that I developed a skill set and catalog of imagery that became well-sought after. The work led to opening Amy Living Light Gallery, which I owned and operated for twenty years. There were many sales, accolades and accomplishments that occurred during that time and it became what I described as the dream life. I fortunately, was supported by locals and the many tourists that came to town looking for fine art photography.
Eight years ago, after my twenty three years in Taos, I moved to St. Augustine to get closer to my aged parents.
After a six month sabbatical, I decided to open a small gallery on King Street near downtown St. Augustine. In my Gallery One Forty Four, I feature my limited editions prints from various bodies of work. The discovery of a rich African American and Civil Rights history is one body of work that’s prominent in the gallery. The Where We Stand series chronicles, events, places and people that were integral in the History. In this series I place a pair of shoes or pairs of shoes, accompanied by historical narrative to help share the profound History here. Along with this work, I create images of the important structures in the Historic Black community of Lincolnville, along with portraits of some of the longtime residents of the community. These fascinating bodies of work share the walls with, a Street Saints series, in which I depict Catholic Saints of African descent with unhoused people stylized and posing as the Saints of color. Two images from this series, were included in the MOCA Jax Triennial Contemporary Art Exhibition which ran from March 29th – November 9th. To balance the more serious work, I have worked on The Magnolia Season series for 7 years which in up close detail, reveal the ethereal beauty of the Magnolia Grandiflora. these series was recently exhibited at the Lightner Museum here in St Augustine.
Work continues on these bodies of work, even as new subject matter appears on the horizon.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Fortunately it hasn’t been a smooth road, as the art life is not one that is stable in the way art is created and supported, which makes it especially rewarding when it is. In the last 28 years as a gallery owner/ operator, I and my work have endured the toughest times and many times have thrived beyond what I could have ever imagined.
City, State or National economics often come in to play when art galleries and businesses rely heavily both on support from locals and those that travel to St. Augustine. What once was an easily, recognizable busy season, is no longer and creatives must find creative ways to let the work be seen by the public on a regular basis, whether in person or virtually. This is the art business in modern times and will be the same in the future, so it is always the challenge and typically only the truly committed survive.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As described previously the, Where We Stand series, the Street Saints Series, the When Dreams become Memories series, (Historic Lincolnville structures), The Porch Portrait series and lastly The Magnolia Season series. These bodies of work have all become my signature work, work I am known for, well-collected and that I am most proud of. No one that I am familiar with does the same type of work, where the seemingly ordinary is presented in such an extraordinary manner.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If it’s what you love, learn as much as you can about it, do the best work you can, don’t let anyone talk you out of it or steal your joy and don’t quit…persevere ! I wish I had known just how much those first steps/those initial years, would change my life, I probably would have been more confident !
Pricing:
- limited edition prints rang from $575-$1575.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://galleryonefortyfour.com
- Instagram: @lightseekingbeing
- Facebook: Lenny Foster
- Youtube: Lenny Foster photography
