Chelsea Art Society - William Sloane Medal Winner

I am delighted to announce that this week, I won this year’s William Sloane Medal at the Chelsea Art Society Members’ Show.

It was judged by the eminent Rachel Campbell-Johnston, Art Critic at The Times for the past 20 years. I feel so honoured that she selected my work, especially as the standard of the work within the Chelsea Art Society is exceptionally high.

Rachel said of my work “While following in the Great British Landscape tradition of painters like Constable and Turner, Lucy has a fresh modern take. I was taken by the way that the painting resolved and unresolved itself, as you walk towards and away from it!”

Rachel was referring to the way that you see brushstrokes when you look closely, however as you move away, it falls together into a whole picture. She particularly commented on the ‘movement’ and ‘gestural brush marks’ in my work. This is so flattering as I have been painting seriously for nearly twenty years and a fresh take on the Great British landscape tradition is what my work is all about!

I feel honoured to be in such good company! This is the fifth year the William Sloane Medal has been awarded and has previously been won by some fabulous artists.

A BIG thank you to Sloane Stanley Chelsea, Damian Greenish, and the wonderful new president of The Chelsea Art Society, Alice Hall for being so supportive when presenting me with the medal itself. And, of course, thanks to Rachel for selecting me as the winner!

Click here for the Autumn Exhibition

Into The Trees, Oil 65x80cm, Winner of the William Sloane Award at the Chelsea Art Society’s Autumn Member’s Show

The British Art Prize

I am thrilled to announce that I have been selected as a Finalist in this year’s The British Art Prize, a prestigious award run by the fabulous and legendary Artists & Illustrators magazine.  My large work in oil, Golden Dusk, is one of fifty Finalists.

The main prize will be judged from an amazing panel comprising the Scottish artist Bruce Mclean, visual artist (and Artists & Illustrators columnist) Jake Spicer, The One Show’s Artist in Residence, Adebanji Alade, the Managing Director of Edding, Andy Gutteridge and Niki Browes, the Editor of the Artists & Illustrators itself.

As a Finalist, my painting will be hung at The British Art Prize 2022 exhibition at the Gallery at the OXO Tower from 23rd-27th November. One for your diary if you are in the area!

Constable's Walks

Solo show, Royal Watercolour Society Galleries, London

A BIG thank you to everyone who came to see Constable’s Walks at the new Royal Watercolour Society Galleries in London.  It was an absolute joy to meet so many of you face to face after many years of knowing you virtually through social media. 

I am pleased to say that the show was a huge success. Over 400 people came to visit the show. So that’s amazing!

The show has now moved online and can be seen here. A lot of the work has now sold, however, there are some wonderful paintings left to buy, so go and take a look. The Catalogue that accompanied the show flew out the door! There are just a few Exhibition Catalogues left, so grab one online while you can.

Thank you again for all your wonderful support both in the gallery, on social media in your comments and private messages. There were some very kind words in the Visitors Book that I shall treasure.

Constable’s Walks “Win a Painting”

As you know if you visited the show there was a competition open to all new and existing subscribers to win a Postcard sized framed oil painting.

This was so successful that I have decided to offer a Runner Up prize of an Exhibition Catalogue. The winner is Anthony from Hampton Court and the runner up is Roger from Caterham. I will be in touch with you both soon.

Hove Seafront, Oil, 13 x 18cm. One of the Postcards from the Constable’s Walks Exhibition

Wonderful Article in Artists & Illustrators Magazine

I was delighted to be featured in the recent Artists and Illustrators magazine with a six page In The Studio article. It was fabulous to share all about my process, art life and show with their readers. A BIG thank you to Artists and Illustrators for featuring me in their beautifully written article.

If you missed the hardcopy in the shops, it is available online.

Elected Associate Member of the Society of Women Artists

I am delighted to announce I have been elected as an Associate Member of the Society of Women Artists.

Having been selected for their Annual Exhibition for many years it is a privilege to now be an Associate Member. The Society now in its 161st year. It promotes and supports the best work from women artists in the UK and I am proud to be part of this wonderful and vibrant society. The 161st Annual Exhibition will take place at the Mall Galleries, London, from 6-11th September 2022 and I will be exhibiting three works this year. One is a biggie at 100 cm x 100 cm (picture below)!

And through the field, Watercolour, 100 x 100cm

Constable’s Walks

I am pleased to announce that I will be showing 50 new paintings in oil and watercolour in a solo exhibition at the Royal Watercolour Society Galleries, 3-5 Whitcomb Street, London, WC2H 7HA, next to Trafalgar Square. Inspired by Constable’s walks around Brighton, the show will be open from 30 August to 10 September 2022, 11-5pm, Monday to Saturday with late opening until 8pm on Fridays. I will be holding two Meet the Artist events on Saturday 3 September and Saturday 10 September. Hope to see you there!

All work will be available for sale in the gallery and also on my website, as will a catalogue made to accompany the show.

My new body of work for my next solo show is based around preparing for my forthcoming series: ‘Constable’s Walks.’ At one point in his life, Constable lived in Brighton and recorded a series of walks around the city. My full series will follow these walks and capture the landscape, seascape and urban environment of today. For, now, I am excited to show some new work in both oil and watercolour painted en plein air and also back in the studio as I build for my solo show over the coming months. The works are centred around Brighton, stretching along the coast East and West, as well as venturing inland onto the Downs above the city and along the River Adur at Shoreham. 

In this large body of work, my primary aim is to capture those moods and moments in the landscape. I will also be bringing in more urban landscapes and suggestions of buildings and towns as this landscape is complex and a mix of nature and urban beauty.

Exhibition details:

-Exhibition Opens: 30 August 2022 

-Exhibition Closes: 10 September 2022 

-Opening times: 11-5pm daily (Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays) 

-Late opening until 8pm on Fridays 

-Meet the Artist: Saturday 3 September and Saturday 10 September

-Location: Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, 3-5 Whitcomb Street, London.

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022

21 June to 21 August 2022, Royal Academy, Piccadilly, London

I am delighted to have been selected to show at the 2022 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Out of the 16,500 entries my large oil Golden Dawn Towards Tillington Monument, Petworth, was selected. Measuring 1.2m x 2m, I am hoping that it will make a splash on the walls of the Royal Academy!

In 2021, I was invited by Petworth House, National Trust, to paint their park and gardens. I was provided with unprecedented at times of day when access for the general public was prohibited. Visiting in the early morning over a period of months, I created a large body of sketches in watercolour and finished works in oil en plein air. My aim was to use these as the basis for a number of larger works in the studio. Golden Dawn Towards Tillington Monument, Petworth, was the result. The work captures the energy and mood of the rapidly changing early morning light in Petworth Park.

Please see the Royal Academy website for more details.

Golden Dawn Towards Tillington Monument, Petworth, Oil, 1.2m x 2m

Moncrieff-Bray Gallery Summer Exhibition

6 May - 25 June, Moncrieff-Bray Gallery, Petworth, West Sussex

I am delighted to have a selection of work at the very beautiful Moncrieff-Bray Gallery in Petworth. All my work for the Summer Exhibition was commissioned and painted bespoke for this exhibition. It’s so exciting to be showing these new oil paintings with such a fabulous gallery. Several from my selection have already sold, so pop in soon or visit my artist’s page.

Please check the Moncrieff-Bray website for opening times.

Looking out to Sea, Oil, 60 x 84cm

Chelsea Art Society Annual Exhibition

16 - 20 June, Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Road, London

I am very excited to be showing with the Chelsea Art Society and this year is my first time as a member. I have shown and been selected for the Society’s Annual Exhibition for many years and this year I will have four works in the exhibition. These will be showing alongside a wonderful array of other artists from the Society and also the Open entry.

This year, the Society has invited its members to exhibit one small, postcard-sized work to be exhibited as the ‘Marsden Masterpieces’ and 100% of the proceeds will go to the Marsden.

Check out my artists page here.

Brooding Skies Across Petworth Deer Park, Oil, 20 x 25cm

Piers Feetham Gallery – Aldeburgh Festival

5th - 26th June, Hill Lodge, Church Walk, Aldeburgh

As always I am delighted to be one of the artists showing with the wonderful Piers Feetham Gallery. The Festival is a great celebration on in Aldeburgh on Suffolk’s wild North Sea coast, so, if you live in or near the area do pop in!

Please check the Piers Feetham website for opening times and more details.

Walking Amongst the Wild Grasses, Oil, 50 x 50 cm

Royal Watercolour Society - ‘London Lives’

30 June - 10 July 2022, Bankside Gallery, London

The Royal Watercolour Society will be exhibiting works by their members in the show ‘London Lives’ to celebrate all things London. I will be showing several works in this fun show at the Bankside Gallery - right next to Tate Modern on the Embankment. All works will be available to take away with you on the day, so I have made sure that my works in the show are small enough for you to carry home should you wish to purchase!

Flags to Buckingham Palace, Watercolour, 13 x 18cm

Christmas at the Royal Watercolour Society

The Bankside Gallery, next to the Tate Modern, is home to the Royal Watercolour Society. As you may remember I have been made an Associate of this prestigious society and take part in all their shows.

For Christmas the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers are hosting the ‘Mini Picture Show.’ A selection of small works by their members will be exhibited from 3rd December 2021 - 30th January 2022. These works can be purchased in the gallery and taken straight home off the wall or bought online.

I have two works available in the exhibition. Both were painted en Plein Air earlier this year and in my contemporary style of working.

Blue Skies and Gold (above) and Bankside Beach to the City (below), 30 x 30cm, gouache

The Royal Institute of Oil Painters

I am thrilled to have had two oils selected for this year’s Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Show at the Mall Galleries. The standard for this show is always so high and it is such an honour to be selected and show alongside the Members’ fabulous work. It is a real treat of a show full of arguably the best oil painters in the UK.

The Private View was extra special this year and opened by Sir Keir Starmer who gave an inspirational speech about the arts and education alongside the wonderful President of the ROI, Tim Benson.

The show will run until 5th Dec at the Mall Galleries. I was delighted to sell one of my oils in the online preview show! How wonderful is that? I still have one work available and you can still browse and purchase all the work here.

Brooding Skies across Petworth Deer Park, Oil, 20 x 25cm

The ING Discerning Eye 2021

The ING Discerning Eye is always a highlight in the art calendar! It features an array of selected works across all spectrums of art genres. I have been extremely lucky over the years to have been selected several times for this fabulous show.

This year I had four large oil paintings selected by the retiring Chairman of the Discerning Eye, Tony Humphreys and I was delighted to sell three of the landscapes. All four works were painted en plein air along a chalk path high up in the South Downs. The path takes you along an ancient chalk track from Cissbury Ring to Chanctonbury Ring with amazing views across the fields.

I was also thrilled that Tony Humphreys selected an oil painting from my studio as his retirement present. What an honour that someone with such an eye for art should choose one of my works!

On the last day of the show I was also invited to do a ‘demo’ at the Mall Galleries. I set up thinking it would be very quiet on the last day. How wrong was I! I was so busy chatting and demonstrating to visitors - and my social media followers who took the trouble to pop by and say ‘hello’ in person - that time just flew. A big thank you to all you lovely people who came. It’s always a pleasure to meet you all!

The show can still be viewed online until 31st December 2021.

The Little Gems Show

For those of you who follow me on social media you know I also sell my work direct from my studio.

This Winter I have a new collection of ‘Little Gems’ online and available to browse and purchase. They are all ‘small’ works painted en plein air over the Summer and Autumn in some of my favourite outdoor locations.

The collection has both oils and watercolours available in a variety of small sizes perfect for those Christmas presents or just to treat yourself! Each work is framed in a limed wood hand painted Farrow and Ball frame.

They have been flying out of the studio so a thank you to everyone who has bought a painting so far. Don’t worry if you haven’t got your hands on one yet, there are still more fabulous ‘Little Gem’ oils and watercolours available in the studio. You can browse and purchase here.

The Yellow House at the Harbour, Oil on wood, 13 x 18cm, £200

Late Autumn Sun, Oil on wood, 13 x 18cm, £200

Coming Up This Autumn...

Lots of things are in the pipeline for the coming months! Firstly there is one very exciting exhibition that I have been invited to show at in the autumn. I spent this summer painting four very special works for the show! No sneak peaks just yet but stay tuned for the announcement coming very soon…

Moving into the Autumn a new online show will go live on my website from mid November featuring new works in both oil and watercolour. The ‘Little Gems’ show will have a variety of special small works to purchase at reasonable prices for your Christmas presents. I will keep you all posted about the launch of this show nearer the time!

From Christmas and the start of 2022 I will be starting work for my next show! Some of you may remember that before ‘Dawn to Dusk’ I was just starting to work on a series called ‘Constable’s Walks’, based on the three routes Constable walked out of Brighton in the four years he lived there. Constable and his wife came for the sea air from 1824-28 when his wife was very ill with tuberculosis. As a result Constable did some regular walks. These three walks still exist, though somewhat changed, and I am intending to walk these routes and paint along the way. My aim is not to represent Constable’s works that he painted along these routes, but to explore my own interpretation of the scenes. I intend to paint both oil and watercolours, both Plein and also a few select lager studio works.

So there is lots on the way. Look out for the exciting news this Autumn and my small online show of ‘Little Gems’ coming in November!

Autumn at the Royal Watercolour Society

The RWS autumn show ‘Then and Now’, will run from the 1 to 31 October at Bankside. I’ll be showing four watercolours, including three new works painted in the summer of 2021 on the South Downs close to the National Trust site of Cissbury Ring. My older work was also painted in the same area and was part of my ‘Quiet, Beauty & Space’ online show. All works convey the mood of the Downs near the ancient site of Cissbury Ring; a feeling of space and air.

Looking West towards the Light, watercolour, 44x44cm

Along the Downs, watercolour, 28x28cm

Green Pastures and Clouds, watercolour, 30x30cm

High Hills and Clouds, watercolour, 28x28cm

Summer at the Royal Watercolour Society

This year I was made an Associate of the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS). Such an honour! As a result I have started to take part in the their annual shows at the wonderful Bankside Gallery (If you don’t know Bankside check it out, it’s right next to the Tate Modern on the South Bank) and I also have my own page up in the Royal Watercolour Society website.

Over the Summer the RWS had an amazing show ‘Summer at Bankside’ which was extremely popular! I had four works in this show and by popular demand the show was extended into the ‘September Showcase’ which runs until the 26 September.

Grey Light, watercolour, 47x47cm

Remembering the Skies, watercolour, 40x40cm

Mist on the Hills, watercolour, 47x47cm

Horizon Glow, watercolour ,47x52 cm

The Wedlake Bell Award and Chelsea Art Society Membership!

I am delighted to announce that after many years of entering the Chelsea Art Society’s open exhibition I was made a member this year! I am also honoured to have been invited to participate in the ‘Wedlake Bell Award’ exhibition where I will be showing two paintings - Green Land and Pale Sun and High Up. ‘The Wedlake Bell Award’ exhibition runs from 13-19 September at 340 Kings Road.

It’s an amazing show full of some wonderful artists that takes place annually in Chelsea. The society membership are a credit to themselves with the whole show going up in only three days from receipt of works and selection, through to a full show catalogue being printed with works all hung! If you have never been to see their work, you really should make a trip! You can browse and purchase all works now @chelseaartsociety or online at https://chelseaartsociety.org.uk/gallery/

Green Land and Pale Sun, oil, 32x32cm, framed, £375

High Up, Watercolour, 57x57cm, framed, £750