Lucy Mathers

Mixed-media artist

It feels like the paintings are waiting to burst out

Artist Lucy Mathers stands in front of her paintings at the Heseltine Gallery

Throughout my life the compulsion to create and, specifically in the last 20ish years, paint grows inside and takes over until I just have to make something and release it!  I am never short of ideas and often one will snowball into the next.

I love exploring the world around me: 

I observe the late afternoon sunlight on the fence, making it glow orange contrasting with the dark looming stormy blue-purple clouds behind and the bright white of the fascia of a building. 

I notice all the different patterns on the drain covers on the school run, wondering who designed them, and why did they use those shapes. 

I am particularly drawn to geometric shapes, especially when they are represented in some sort of organic form - whether that be in nature or man-made.  It is the relationships of these shapes, colours, textures and lines that I love to explore in my artwork.

Image of artist Lucy Mathers showing a close up of her hands with blue and green ink on

I’ve been painting almost every day since June 2020 and loving every minute.  I’ve taken on-line courses with Louise Fletcher and Gabriella Buckingham.  The aim being not to recreate their style or subject (although Gabriella might notice an influx of pink in my work as well as a new-found love of still life), but to learn techniques to make my paintings stronger along-side delving into what I really love and want (need) to express.

Most of my artwork begins with an intention, an idea; then I work intuitively with different mark making tools, collage papers, and other materials to create texture.  The shapes and forms reveal themselves along the way.  I love choosing just a few different colours to work with for a series of paintings: mixing them to see what other colours can be made. My favourite colour is turquoise. I love glazing thin layers of transparent colour to create depth and richness. 

If learning about me and my work has whet your appetite why not head on over to my shop to see what’s available, contact me about a commission for your home, or sign up for my monthly-ish newsletter to find out all the latest from my studio. Visit my newsletter library to get a taste of what they contain.