Time Traveler

In life as in art, Lukas the Illustrator revives the romance of the past

- HANNAH MARTIN

1. ARTIST LUKAS THE ILLUSTRATOR AT HIS STUDIO ON WESTPORT ISLAND IN MAINE.

I try to trick myself into thinking it's the 18th century,” says the artist known simply as Lukas the Illustrator, speaking from his studio on Westport Island, Maine. To a soundtrack of orchestral chants or sea shanties, fanciful motifs flow from his old-school dip pen, conjuring scenes that hover between architectural ruins, theater sets, and sylvan dreamscapes. “Lately, I’ve been fixated on men riding scallop shells and fighting dragons,” he reports.