Lucy Powell

'I have learnt how vital it is to make time to ‘play’ in the studio, and to not always feel the need to make a finished painting. For me the most exciting work comes from recognising and responding to the accidents that occur. I try never to have a preconceived idea of how a painting will end up – that is the adventure.'

Lucy was born in London. She studied in Florence at the Institute of Fine Art before attending Chelsea School of Art, followed by a BA in Fine Art at Wimbledon. Her work has evolved from her earlier representational style to a loose, more emotional and interpretative expression that verges on abstraction. In recent years she has pushed the boundaries of her work to explore new challenges both with her painting and the intellectual thinking which underpins it.

While continuing to build on the figurative world around her, she interprets nature through her own unique vision, exploring the qualities of paint, texture and composition. She explains, 'I allow the work to evolve instinctively, searching for a way to express the beauty I experience in the natural rhythms of colour and light, and form and space. I no longer think of each work as an end in itself, but rather as a stepping-stone to an inspiring, ever evolving journey of exploration and expression.'

Lucy paints the domestic world around her, subjects she knows intimately – the landscape of her Sussex home, still-lives, and figures caught for a moment. She makes frequent visits to the Luberon valley in France. These paintings capture the lazy heat of the French summer and peaceful days where she paints uninterrupted, capturing the colours and atmosphere of the Toulouse countryside.

'I start without any preconceived idea of the finished painting, but instead respond to the marks I make as the painting evolves, and it begins to evoke a feeling of experiences of forgotten places and moments. Sometimes what I know about composition takes over, at other times, I find myself caught by the struggle between light and translucency, or the tension between colour and form.'

Lucy’s work has been shown at the gallery for over a decade. She is also represented by several London galleries and her work is widely collected.
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