As D.L. Cooper entered the Starbucks she’d agreed to meet me at, I knew she was someone I would really like. Looking excitable with long silverish golden hair, I knew she was an artist just by looking at her. Her hands we’re sturdy and sure as she shook mine, and I felt instantly connected and inspired by her. She had this sense of adventure and wisdom surrounding her, and as we sat back down she smiled widely.
At first I asked her about her origins. “I’ve been doing art my entire life”, she stated. When artists make this comment I don’t usually believe them, but in her case I actually could see it. She told me that in college she studied film. Her career counselor told her to not pursue art but she decided to anyway. It was hard for her to find jobs as a film focused major, so she started doing special effects sculptures. “This guy gave me a lump of clay and said ‘bring it back by Monday’. So throughout the whole weekend I played with it and twisted it and ended up doing the head designs for the Hydra and the full designs for the singing Muses in the Disney film ‘Hercules’. But to be honest, sculpting didn’t keep my attention at first and I moved on”. D.L. Cooper stated that after this she went to the corporate world to make as much money as possible for family support. But back wound that had been laying dormant since her time in the military flared up, and the pain was so intense she was bedridden for many months. The year was 2003 and she was bored out of her mind. Her whole life she had always been someone to get up and go, and here she was laying around all day, unable to even climb the stairs on bad days. One day her mother brought a sculpture home for her as a present. Feeling irritable, D.L. Cooper criticized the sculpture. Her mother challenged her, asking ‘could you really do better’? D.L. Cooper accepted the challenge and started sculpting regularly for her mother to take out and sell. It turned into her own side business, as well as a newfound passion. Eventually she sent in a model to a national competition and won. To this day, you can see the 20 foot tall monument outside of the Thornton Civic Center, in the state of Colorado, off of highway I-25.
We took a break to grab coffee, and she even offered to buy me a cup. Her generosity and sincerity was refreshing. As we sat back down, I asked her what influenced or inspired her. She told me classical sculpture, specifically Greek and Roman, was very influential. She adored Late- Renaissance artwork and illustration she found in books. I asked her about her most recent series of sculptures titled “Beautiful Creatures”. Here, she is inspired by women and animals and their interactions. “I wanted to create a story or a narrative within these sculptures. A basic plot line where the audience could fill in the gaps”.
I asked her what hardships had she faced. She told me one of her greatest hardships had been being a female artist. She told me that there was constant competing for space, in a male dominated artistic world. Female artists are not taken nearly as seriously. “I was even advised by both fellow artists as well as commissioners to use the title that I do now, the very androgynous initials D.L. Cooper”.
I asked her what she wanted to talk about or be asked more in interviews. She revealed some very strong feelings. “I feel that modern art set us backwards, because of the lack of realism, the lack of narrative, and the lack of combining with science (aka studying anatomy). I feel that from the 1930’s to the 1970’s, our skill levels as artists fell. Personality and charisma trumped quality and skill, and people spent more time out in the streets pimping their artwork vs actually working and improving on it. Or even being inspired by it”. I asked her how she felt about about the Internet, and its role within the art community. She told me that she actually liked it. Things were changing and quality was thriving again. Same with using digital art work and created a new medium that expanded skill level and opportunity. “What I can’t do with clay or metal I can do digitally. This allows for progression, as well as a simpler way to outreach. This way, artists have to rely on skill again. People who create high quality work are the ones that’re actually selling, digitally. And they seem like they actually love what they do.”
Finally, I asked her if she had any advice. “There are five steps that I give to artists who’re seeking success. Education, discipline, practice, passion, and finally of faith in oneself. These are all significance for artists in general.”
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