Pop artist Lucas Oakley knows how to hold your attention. His expanding collection often centers on iconic people, tapping into society’s lust for pop culture and colorfully projecting it back to us like that Pink Floyd album cover. He conjures eye-popping colors and isn’t beholden to a single medium. For Oakley, creating is the only way forward.
Lucas Oakley is betting on himself. A self-funded artist in New York, Oakley spends his time honing his craft in the studio and exploring new ways to express himself.
His work is for legends and those who love them. It’s different and dazzling, weird and memorable. He’s now a part of So.Gay’s community ambassadorship program, where his work can be celebrated by even more members of the community!
So.Gay spoke with Lucas Oakley about teaming up together, his ongoing work, and why being the biggest artist in the world is at the center of his dream board.
So.Gay: You’re a So.Gay community ambassador now. What made you want to join?
Lucas Oakley: Shout out to you for sending that to me, for real, because after we went to that So.Gay event, I was like, “Oh my god, I see the vision,” and I just think that Alex is really smart. When I saw the community ambassador thing, I thought, “This is fucking genius to get people to be a part of this and get into it.” So I’m glad I applied, glad I went to the first meeting, and hit it off with Alex and Ethan. They’re fucking great, I love them. I had them come to my studio, too. That’s how all of this happened.
So.Gay: Can you tell me more about your experience with the ambassadorship?
Lucas Oakley: It’s been really fun. I just wanted to be a part of something. I wanted to get in with the gays around New York City, and this is my opportunity to do it. I already knew three of the people who were doing it, so it was perfect. It’s exactly the right thing for me. Getting in with all of the girls and the gays, making art, that’s what it’s all about.
So.Gay: Sounds like there’s some fun collabs on the way.
Lucas Oakley: Yeah, definitely. The goal with doing this whole thing was to get involved with So.Gay especially when they’re starting out, because as I said, I see the vision. Alex is so smart business-wise that it’s bound to work. I am so happy to bring my creativity and to be a part of it too. I talked to Alex about how I want to start working on photo shoots for you guys, like take the art to the next level, because So.Gay all has the business side and everything down, so hopefully I can get involved.
So.Gay: Your art is so distinct. Have you always had the desire to create?
Lucas Oakley: I think that from birth, I’ve been creating and making shit. It definitely comes from my family, too. I was born into a family of artists. My grandparents on my dad’s side, my grandpa is a potter and a painter, and my grandma is also a potter. They started an artist commune in rural North Carolina. It’s like the one tiny pocket of artsiness and liberalism in the crazy red South, and then there’s just this haven. I grew up going there, and it was full of great artisans, potters, and painters. My aunt is a glassblower, so I would be running around all of the studios, playing with things, and making things. My dad grew up there too, so all of his advertising had logo mania everywhere, like gas station signs, Coca-Cola signs, neon signs. All of that is what I grew up around. It was very much like Americana in the South, and that has been such a huge influence on me to this day. Everything I make is all about America: it’s logo mania, it’s advertising, it’s consumerism. I’m so interested in that, and it’s all from my upbringing. Seeing my grandpa make a business as an artist and sustain himself, and seeing my dad go into advertising on his own and totally do it for himself too, my role models all did it for themselves. They showed me from a young age that you can be an artist and make it a career. I think I was kind of destined for it; it’s the only thing I know how to do.
Even coming up in that environment and being so supported by my family, they’re the best. They were always encouraging me to go for it, be creative, make whatever I wanted, and express myself. I still had a really hard time after college, wondering if this was viable as a career. In college, I studied advertising and studio art; I did a double major. But when I graduated, I thought, I am not going to be able to support myself. So I did graphic design for several years after college, but I just wasn’t happy working a normal job and working for someone else. I had a moment where I just decided this is my passion. I didn’t move to New York to be in graphic design and work for someone else. I came here to make my dream come true of being a professional artist, so I went for it, and it’s working out.
So.Gay: You’re betting on yourself, and that’s really inspiring.
Lucas Oakley: I hope so. Look, anyone out there reading, take the leap of faith. The universe will catch you, and everything will be fine. It’s so worth it. You’ve got to chase your dreams or you’ll always live in regret.
So.Gay: Can you talk about the kind of artist you are and what you’re working on?
Lucas Oakley: Yeah, well, I think that one of the things that’s great about what I do, or at least I think I’m great for this, is that I would definitely say I’m a multi-hyphenate artist. I don’t like to pigeonhole myself into one medium. I feel like a lot of artists do that, like they’re just, “I’m a painter, I’m a photographer,” and they’re very close-minded. It’s like that’s the only thing that they do. My philosophy is that creativity begets creativity, so even if I’m not doing artistic things, if I’m just getting dressed in the morning, that’s an act of creativity. If I’m going out for a walk, I want to live my life as a work of art and not be afraid to express myself in whatever I’m doing. That’s definitely freed my mind to not just say, “Oh, I draw pictures,” because that’s what I was doing in the beginning, only drawings. I realized that same artistic mindset, my taste, my style, can be applied to anything. That’s when I started taking my drawing to marker style. I got a lot more colorful, and I started doing cut paper collage. I’ve been putting on shows in the city that also include fashion and performance aspects. Everything that I’m doing, I’m just trying to… Oh, I have also been creative directing, doing photo shoots, and writing. It’s all so many different media that allow me to get the message out to as many people as possible.
So.Gay: How can readers engage with your art at home or around the city?
Lucas Oakley: It all starts with my mailing list. It’s called Icons Only Art Society. It’s a pop art snail mail club. The whole idea is to make my artwork accessible to everyone, so it’s a $9.99 fee per month. It’s a subscription-based service, and you get a letter filled with original artwork in your mailbox every single month. It always has a 5 by 7-inch hand-signed print and then bonus items. The whole idea is to take those snail mail clubs, I see them on TikTok all the time, all of these artists doing little rainbows and cupcakes and whatever for the junk journal. So for me, my lens was to obviously apply Pop Art to it. So it’s kind of like my passion project to feature an icon of the month from pop culture every single month. It’s basically just a famous person who’s inspired me, or an artist or creative that I look up to and who has influenced my work. I do a deep dive on them, draw a portrait, write a full essay about their impact on me and the world, and then I do a bonus item. Like this month, it’s Tiffany “New York” Pollard, who is obviously the HBIC of reality television. She shaped me in so many ways, and the bonus item is an eight-page coloring book with different scenes from New York’s most iconic moments. They’re literally iconic, and that’s Icons Only Art Society.
This summer, I am going to be working on a new series. I’ve started a new series and am already starting to plan a show for it. It’s probably going to be in the fall, I’m thinking in September. I’ve been working on a whole new series inspired by vintage erotica, specifically vintage gay erotica. Growing up, I always felt pressure that to be a real artist, you had to do the female form and draw nude women. In life drawing classes I took, it was always women. I think of all of my favorite artists, and they all do nudes like that, so I just realized that this is not authentic to me. I don’t want to draw women, so I decided to start drawing men instead. I discovered vintage gay erotica magazines, and the art direction in those magazines is so beautiful. I loved the graphic design, the photography, everything about it. Especially the ones from the 70s and the 80s. All of the interior decoration is out of control, too, in the backdrops of all of these pictures. It was so inspiring to me to take these things that were taboo, these subjects that society saw as taboo, and turn them into fine art. They really are originally a form of artwork, but people just saw them as smut. I think it’s exciting to look back at that and appreciate it for what it was when society originally dismissed it. I am also looking at it in that way because now everything is on OnlyFans, it’s all digital, it’s all POV with an iPhone, so it’s just very nice to go back and see how it used to be done.
So.Gay: About your creative process, how do you intake the real world and project it through your art?
Lucas Oakley: When I say that I like to live my life as a form of art, I mean I want to be the physical embodiment, like I am the artwork. I’m very ritualistic in my daily practice. I always get up and have a slow morning; it’s my me time to prepare myself for the day. I go to the gym, then I come home and meditate and journal every single morning. That’s how I calm my nervous system, get out what I need to, and prepare for the day. In my reflections and in my journal, I have a lot of ideas. It’s like I open that flow state, and then I go to the studio and start working on whatever is calling to me. It’s very interesting being a self-employed artist because I’m used to working a normal job, and now there’s no one telling me what to do anymore, so I try to stay on a very consistent schedule. I am literally in the studio seven days a week, but I try to do one day a week for my sketchbook. I have one week out of the month where I make my entire Icons Only collection, then I have days set aside to work on this porn series, and then I have all these other ongoing projects at the same time. It’s really about just regimenting everything. I find that I’m like an unlimited well of creativity; it never runs dry. I can just constantly come up with things, so I’m never really faced with that issue, which is great. I feel like the way I’m working right now has changed my entire life. I’m so focused only on my work, and I will continue to only focus on my work because I have to manifest my dreams. There’s no other option. I think that the amount of work that I’m putting in is bound to create something. Absolutely, I think if I’m focused on putting in the work, the universe will respond.
So.Gay: Speaking of manifesting, what are some things that you’re hoping for in the next few years?
Lucas Oakley: The ultimate dream, I’m not afraid to say it. I want to be the biggest artist in the world. I don’t know that I necessarily have little milestones, but I know that is the end goal of what I want. Every single action that I make is something that I want to be aligned to in that moment. I’m already putting in work to have another show. I want to have one or two shows a year. The first year after I quit my graphic design job, I did three shows in one year, which was out of control. That was a big learning moment for me, that was not sustainable.
The amount of work that goes into a show is out of control. But I think some goals for me, I would like to be written about in a magazine, which this marks the first time that’s happening, which is so very exciting. I’m so grateful. So.Gay! Love you. Who knows when that can happen? I would love to be on some red carpets, and through my mailing list, I’ve already started interviewing some icons. I interviewed Anna Delvy for one of the months, and I interviewed Todd Oldham. I hope to be connected to some more people who inspire me so I can interview them, get to know them, and create art about them.
So.Gay: What are you working on with Todd Oldham?
Lucas Oakley: For those who don’t know, Todd was a huge designer in the 90s. He was the hottest ticket at New York Fashion Week. He is so incredibly talented, and his studio did a lot more than fashion after the 90s. He did books, interior design, and even full hotels. He was the creative director of Old Navy and did collections with La-Z-Boy and Target. He’s all over the place, and everything he does is amazing. I’m so excited to make a whole collection of art about him. Todd has been a bit of a mentor for me. I met him while I was working at Fishs Eddy, and he has been so amazing, giving me great advice and really helping me out. He and his husband, Tony [Longoria] have taken me under their wing, and it is the most amazing thing of all time. I’m so grateful for them. Todd actually recently gifted me a huge supply of his vintage buttons and charms from his collection in the 90s. Every single season, twice a year, and with multiple lines, his team would individually hand-make all of the buttons for the closures and jewelry. Everything was made by his studio. They were made with Sculpey clay, then fired and cast in white metal, then gold or silver plated, and finally embellished with Swarovski crystals. The quality is out of control; it’s high fashion. It’s fashion history. I am amazed every single day when I walk into my studio and see all of it here. I’ve been working on taking those buttons and charms and turning them into a full collection of jewelry. I’m hoping to have a pop-up in the summer, and hopefully, by the time this interview is up, I will have some pieces listed on my website for sale. I’m super excited. Todd gave me a lot more than just the jewelry, so I’m going to be creating a lot of artwork and amazing things from what he gave me. I am so grateful to Todd and Tony. I love you guys.
So.Gay: Learning from experts and queer elders is so important.
Lucas Oakley: It really is insane. I hope I get to pay it forward one day because what they’ve done for me is so, so amazing. It’s so cool having older gays to talk to, especially Todd and Tony, because they were in the mix in the height of New York City Nightlife in the 90s. It’s the coolest era to be in New York. Hearing all of their stories of being in the town, the people that they’ve worked with, like they were with all of the supermodels in the 90s.
They were with all of the cool club kids and all of these amazing artists and creatives that they know and work with. It’s just insane. The wealth of knowledge that they give me is just insane. I just fucking love them, and I feel so lucky.
So.Gay: How long ago did you guys meet?
Lucas Oakley: We met, I think, in either 2021 or 2022. Todd returned to fashion after a really long hiatus and started a line called Toddleda Maker Shop. He had the pop-up for it at Fishs Eddy, which is where I used to work. I did graphic design for them, window displays, and even worked as a chef. I helped put together the whole pop-up for them. So I worked really closely with Todd and Tony, and that’s how I met them. It kind of sparked from there. I got to model for Todd Oldham Makers Shop, spend a day with them, and hang out. It was just amazing. We hit it off, and we’re three peas in a pod.
So.Gay: It’s so admirable that you dream big, and it shows in your work.
Lucas Oakley: I think I have what it takes, and that’s all delusion. Period. I think that in order to make it, you have to be delusional. So whatever. I may be blindly delusional, but it’s a strength and a weakness.
So.Gay: Got any great art spots around the city you recommend?
Lucas Oakley: I definitely like to go to the galleries in the Lower East Side. There are a bunch on Henry Street that feature emerging artists. I love that. I find, honestly, that I am more of a consumer of the “accepted art.” Like, I love going to just regular museums. I find a lot of inspiration going to the Met, MoMA, and the Whitney. Number one, the most underrated museum in New York is Poster House. It’s on 23rd and 6th Avenue, and it is incredible. It’s all vintage posters. The artists are insane. I feel like I learned more at that museum than anywhere else, and it’s all advertising, and it’s all consumer-based artwork. I live for it.
So.Gay: Why do you think there’s such an overlap between queer people and artists?
Lucas Oakley: I think there’s an overlap because, from an early age, we are not accepted by the world. Very early on, we’re taught to question everything. You make that connection of “oh, maybe how I feel is not wrong” earlier than a lot of people who aren’t born into the minority group of the LGBT community. So I think you’re driven to be more creative because you’re not just going to fit into this mold that society builds for us. I also think it teaches you to develop a lot of skills that you normally wouldn’t have to in order to survive. My skills and personality are definitely a part of it. I am loud, and I can be cutting and witty because you learn to get people before they get you. Art was my escape. I knew that anytime I was making artwork, I could shut myself off, and everything was good. It was what made me feel good. I think that happens with a lot of gay people; you need to have some kind of outlet to channel all of your energy, and the creative arts are the way to go.
So.Gay: When is the first time you sold a professional piece, and how did that feel?
Lucas Oakley: Oh, the first time I sold a professional piece. I don’t know if I would call it professional until college, I guess. I had my first art show in college. I went to UNC-Chapel Hill, and one of my friends, Maddie Whalen, was also an artist. We were like the fucking rejects of the art school. I swear to God, at UNC it was all very conceptual art, like pick up a twig in the forest and tell us a backstory about how it’s nature conservation. Then I would go up to critique with a portrait of Kim Kardashian dressed as Frida Kahlo, and they would be like, ” What is this?” So they were always like, “What the hell? Maddie and I were the pop artists, and we were like, let’s have a show. All of these people’s work is not going to sell; we want to commercialize our art. So we had our first show, got a bunch of prints, and I did a bunch of glitter paintings. That was the first time I ever did any work with cut glitter paper, which is now a big part of my practice. The show was called Sellouts, and we had it at a boutique on Franklin Street. I did sell a bunch of pieces at that show. That was the first show where I actually made money, which was very exciting.
So.Gay: That’s absolutely exciting. What have you learned since chasing your art dreams?
Lucas Oakley: I hope so. Here’s what I can tell you about what I’ve learned since becoming pleased with my job. For a long time, I was going through the motions and waiting for someone to discover me, just thinking in my mind, “I know what I’m meant to be; other people should recognize it.” I kept feeling like someone was going to see it in me and give me opportunities. My biggest advice for anyone who is waiting to be discovered is that you have to discover yourself. No one’s going to do it for you. You create the opportunities. You start making the art you want, put together the shows you want to put together, and make it happen for yourself. I think when you start putting the work in, other people are attracted to it. That’s definitely how it’s worked for me. I did not have any fucking connections. Everything is from me putting myself out there. So swallow your fear, get over yourself, embarrass yourself, and go be a hot mess.
So.Gay: I really wish you the best of luck with everything. We can’t wait to see and support.
Lucas Oakley: Thank you. I’m trucking along. I’m deep in it, sometimes it’s too wild, but I take a step back, and I see it’s all worth it.
