How do you pronounce your last name?

My cousin is a grade school teacher in Texas and she tells her students it's like this. "Don't loose this key." Lou-ziss-key. Jonathan Edward Lou-ziss-key. Say it three more times and tell your friends. Luczycki Luczycki Luczycki! 

How much?

For some reason, people like to holler this question while standing behind me or out of car windows along with “Hey Picaso!” and my all-time favorite, "Did you paint that?" while I am physically painting in the field, right in front of them. And yes, I know who Bob Ross is and I think it's fantastic that your aunt paints as well. :)

To give an idea of the range, a 9 x 12 painting sells for $495. A 24 x 30 sells for $2,150. A basic rule of thumb is the square inch method, which is how a lot of fine artists price their work. My current rate as of 2017 is $3/square inch for work 16" inches wide and smaller, and $2/square inch for work 20" inches wide and larger. 

Please contact me for prices on specific paintings.

How long does it take you to paint a picture?

Anywhere from an hour to several hours for plein air work. In the field, the light effect in a scene changes as fast as the sun moves. After about two hours it's a completely different picture, and painting during dawn or dusk you have less than an hour with fast moving shadows and temperature shifts. I have done field studies in as little as 20 minutes and those sometimes turn out to be my favorites. I like to finish paintings on location, but after the light changes I have to pack up and return the next day and at the same time if the weather conditions are the same.

Do you paint from photographs?

Rarely, unless it is a commission for a client of a place or person I cannot visit, I prefer to work from life like the classical masters did. Contemporary plein air painter Silvio Gagnon compared painting from photos to painting from life this way:

“The first is like going to the library and reading a book about Paris, the second is like going there for two weeks with your girlfriend.”

The view outside is infinitely rich and detailed. When it comes to atmosphere, color, shadow, light, inspiration, can you beat standing in nature? Paintings done exclusively from photos are often easy to spot. The shadows are too dark, the lights are too light, and both lack color, along with atmosphere and edge variations. 

Plein air paintings tend to be small. Why?

Because the time needed to cover the board or canvas (typically 8 x 10 to 16 x 20 inches) is all you have before the light changes too much. 2 hours is usually about all the time you have to capture the light before it changes completely. Although sometimes I am very ambitious and will do a very large painting on site, large brush in hand, and plenty of coffee in my system!

Is it hard to work when people are watching?

I have definitely grown accustomed to working around crowds. A painter out in public, with an easel, an umbrella tends to attract attention. I always love taking with the curious, the confused and the ones that tend to profess that they "can't even draw a stick figure." But to this day, I have learned that kids are my best critics, for they can see things more clearly than any adult I have ever met.