Artist Profile — Lucy Hersey
Lucy Hersey is a painter living in regional Victoria. She works in natural pigments and plant extracts which she grows and forages in her local area.
“I’m big on sustainability - trying to be low impact in my art practice and life. I am as interested in the process of paint makings I am in love with the act of painting. How paint was made throughout history, the significance of colour and pigments in different cultures, and sourcing and using natural pigments to make my own paint. My background in research often leads me down wonderful problem solving, experimental rabbit holes; and at times my studio looks more like a science lab than a painter’s workshop.
Being able to pick up the landscape, and physically work it into my paintings is the essential, connecting element of my practice. Ultimately for me, it is the intrinsic properties of the materials that determine the outcome of each painting, as the quirks of each natural pigment are revealed, guiding and leading me in a way that is collaboration, and a celebration of nature and the landscape.
About the paintings within ‘Sky Swimming’: “The paintings within the ‘Sky Swimming’ collection are dedicated to fleeting glimpses of the sublime. Breathtaking moments that catch the heart off guard. Of seeing departed loved ones in sun-rays. Connecting with the spirit of creation in the colour of clouds.” - Lucy Hersey
About the paintings within ‘Shadeseeker’: “As most of Southern Australia currently grapples with drought, we on our farm are no different - experiencing the first hand pressures of living on the land. Instead of looking outto the cloudless horizon and uncharacteristically brown hills of our local landscape, I have found myself seeking out enclosed places of solitude, pushing deeper in to the bush, wandering the gullies and looking more closely at the activities happening closer to the ground; turning over leaves and logs, digging and investigating the soil. In this way I notice my behaviour innately mimics that of the birds, insects and the larger animals who have relocated from the pasture in search of water and reprieve in this difficult season. These paintings invite the viewer to join me on a ramble, to take shelter and nestle into the landscape - allow it to hold and nurture you, sink your fingers into the cool earth and imagine you are a critter for a while too.“ - Lucy Hersey
