“As an art teacher and owner of my own art school in Maui, I was very excited about the new LUCID-Art Camera Lucida. My first project using the Camera Lucida was an 11×14 acrylic painting of a sail boat in the Lahaina harbor. I worked from one of my photographs … once I had it all alined to my satisfaction I was able to draw the image with ease. As soon as I master the use of this wonderful tool, I plan on teaching my students how to use it. They are as excited as I am and can’t wait to get their hands on it.” – Darice Machel
“This very clever device is not necessarily the answer to every question raised when following a path to draw or paint, as of course there are no real magical solutions, there is no substitute for traditional drawing or painting methods. However, your instrument, in keeping with the tradition of a true craftsmen tool is a worthy addition alongside all the other items to be found in an artist’s studio.
The camera lucida opens up a whole new world of possibilities. This instrument, requires a degree of patience and skill which rewards with truly amazing results which are genuinely astounding. The camera lucida reduces the time it takes to measure a subject thus enabling rapid progress for the artist.” –Eugene Conway
Reviews and example art work
“It would sound very dramatic if I tried to explain what a catalyst buying my LUCID-Art was for me. Friends who once pushed me to try to paint again now push to see finished products and they all know when I paint and when to expect another photo up on facebook. Even my children who used to blow me off artistically…I am just their mom…now encourage me and ask for pieces for their homes.
Now, after just a few months, I seem to have gotten myself into a gallery in Colorado, (Art on Mountain). I thought it was a bit soon to try for this and considered it a dry run, but there were 3 slots and 12 artists going through the jurying process, and my dry run has become my new reality!
It was my camera lucida that got me started back doing something I should be doing with my life, LUCID-Art deserve a big thank you for their part in all of this.
I LOVE THIS THING! I am so pleased and so excited and it is like MAGIC. It has added to my art degree training and expand what I can do. You can also sit in front of a computer screen with a digital image and use the lucida to draw it. I tried looking at some digital images through the lucida and view is 100% better than with an opaque projector.
Also, I drew a pot outside with the right oval shape and appropriate shadow. It was effortless. Perfection!
I found the instructions useful, as far as distance and adjustments were concerned. I didn’t feel lost at all and I love the results. VERY HAPPY HERE.
The girl (portrait on the right) is my daughter and it is VERY like her, a very good likeness. Keep in mind, while I have a BFA in art, I never would do a portrait in school. This of her is about 8th or 9th portrait I ever done, period.”
-Lynne Hurd Bryant
“I have purchased almost every one of Les’s incredible inventions. Needless to say I love them all.
I am a retired Psychotherapist, and loved my career, but I always wanted to be an artist. I had used these tools to help clients with self esteem issues, for years before retiring. Not to mention what the Camera Lucida has done for my own self esteem. At 52 years of age, I can only wonder how different my life may have been, if I had been introduced to these glorious tools earlier, perhaps in my childhood even. I was basically a stick figure artist most of my life, till I worked with my first Lucida made and designed by Les. I am no Rembrandt, but I have made money with my new skills. I have used these tools for so many things, art, sculpture, photography, to restore art projects I have purchased. I have found so many other surprising ways of using these tools as well. Think out of the box, and you will be surprised what you come up with.
No I am not a Cookson relative, nor am I getting any payment for my praise, except for the satisfaction of helping someone who has help so many others with his inventions, his ingenuity, and his generosity by pricing the Lucida so that most anyone can afford one.
I remember paying $1500.00 for my first Lucida on eBay, one of those vintage units, all chrome poles with a lens on top that were very difficult to use. I think it was made by Holbein, it had twelve different lens that basically drove one mad in a very short period of time.
Thank you Les, I can’t wait to get the new version, the [LUCID-Art] Camera Lucida. I have collected everyone of his inventions, because I think they are not just tools, but works of art. In fact, I make him sign everything I buy from him. I think this is embarrassing to him, but it is important to validate the importance of these items. They are tools, they are art, and indeed they are MAGIC!”
-Dr. Roy Hedrick
“I bought the camera Lucida in the hope it would help my students learn to draw. Some students that had trouble concentrating with normal drawing instruction showed a renewed focus and showed considerable renewed effort in learning to draw. It is easy and fun to use and I would recommend you give it try. Here are some samples of portraits that I have done. The camera is a big time-saver and makes getting a likeness much easier.” -Mr. Samuel Paris
Painting by Stu Dunkel made using one of our Camera Lucidas, Balance of Good, 12×16 oil on masonite.
“I like to draw and paint en plein air. It’s great for drawings of cityscapes to get the perspective right (even while sitting in a car), but it also works well for painting. … In just a few minutes I’m started on a well-composed painting while my attraction to the scene is still fresh. Often I let drawn lines show through for an interesting effect.”
-Terry Elrod
Art Work by Jerry Flanary using one of our Camera Lucidas.
Here is some art work done with the help of one of our Lucidas, thoughts and a testimonial by Les Bruder.
“The Camera Lucida is suited to reducing panoramas and natural scenes to the size of a large drawing pad, and its portability makes it ideal for such image capture. You don’t have to rely upon electricity as with projection systems, and the filters help one deal with all manner of natural lighting. You really learn a lot about light and seeing when you begin to play around with such an instrument. You feel like part of the camera, in fact you are a part of the camera; the mirror reflects the image onto a surface, the artist plays the part of the developing chemicals which fix the image on the paper. Another and perhaps greater instruction one gets from using the 
Lucida is practice in seeing and manipulating proportion, which, as Leonardo Di Vinci said, is divine.”
-Les Bruder
