4TH - 20TH DECEMBER
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Wiltshire and London based artist, Lucy de Roeper, aims to recreate imagery both from memory and imagination but never neglecting observation and has a particularly strong knowledge of colour. Lucy likes to build spatial structures which are mainly drawn from landscapes around Wiltshire, The Lake District and the Cornish Coast.
Whilst Lucy feels drawn to depict the natural world surrounding her, she is able, she is able to find inspiration wherever she goes; ‘It is in the painting process itself when I feel most alive and I become aware of myself; physically, emotionally and intellectually. Making art allows me to explore boundaries of perception and responsiveness. Paint, colour and material are my fundamental language when creating atmosphere and the state of mind of a piece.’
This exhibition reflects the seasons of the year and how they change our perceptions of the landscape in which we live 'I aim to capture the essence of the light, colour and atmosphere that drives me to paint.’
Lucy has also spent two months of this year creating artwork on an artist led residency, which was focused around her response to a post industrial site just outside Lisbon, Portugal. Lucy describes this experience as being ‘confronted with the unknown… what we bring back from that confrontation is a novelty, a new symbol or vision for life. The outer image of the inward thing, it was this idea, of the subjective versus the objective, that resonated with me the most.’
Whilst Lucy’s paintings are mostly of a more intricate nature she likes to free up her practice too and is always experimenting with new ideas, often painting abstract as well as figurative; ‘This is a part spiritual journey, but every painting at some level represents the intuitive and unspoken connection between nature and human kind; the act of making and becoming together with personal references as well as vivid expressionistic mark making and intense and shifting colours.’
Lucy uses a range of painting techniques; she applies thick paint, thin paint, sometimes using her fingers or a cloth to drag and remove paint and often scratching the surface of the canvas. She will sometimes attach her brushes to long sticks as a means to extend or alter her arm length and liberate her mark making before she applies more layers.
Lucy has fulfilled a variety of commissioned work and has exhibited in the UK and internationally; both group and solo, whilst also working as an art teacher in schools. She had recently begun her masters at City and Guilds of London art school where she is further developing and contextualising her innovative practice.
