Where Texture Meets Form: Lucy Anderson
Created in dialogue with Hakusho, Lucy Anderson’s exclusive works bring warmth, imperfection, and expressive mark-making to the collection’s clean, sculptural lines.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Could you share how your journey as an artist began, and what drew you to make the work you do now?
Growing up I was always interested in art. I remember my mother being extremely creative and always bringing her paints/water colours to our holidays. My aunty and uncle also had really eclectic collection of art in their house and I remember being interested in a lot of their pieces from when I was really young. There was one that hung in their kitchen by a Brisbane artist Sam Bullock. For whatever reason I was so drawn to that piece and I believe it is that single artwork that made me want to paint and make art. It gave me an intrinsic appreciation for outsider or naive art. Another massive influence on my work was my painting teacher Jenny Watson. Her art is still my all-time favourite.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and which parts of your creative process do you enjoy most? Are there any stages you find particularly challenging?
The thing I enjoy the most about my practice is when I get to a point of being able to be playful. Starting is always somewhat hard and then I’ll get to the point (and its more just a mood or energy) where I’ll do something bold and it will feel really playful. Then you get ahead of yourself and you’ve all of a sudden stuffed it up, that’s when it goes back to being hard. Do I try erase what I just did or do I push it further? And its ok if I’m just painting for the sake of painting but when I’m painting to a brief or a deadline that’s when it can be challenging.
Can you tell us about a work that holds special significance to you?
For the reason I just mentioned, I think a small series that I did for Sunday Salon where I attached little shapes/figures to the tops of the pieces. These were so joyful for me. I felt a confidence in them even though they were small. I had so much fun matching the shapes to the paintings. I still look at those pieces and pay attention to when they sell and I think “I like that buyer” haha.
We’re thrilled to be selling an exclusive range of prints you’ve created. Can you tell us about this body of work?
I really loved creating this body of work. When I was approached by Alice to make work for the brand’s new collection, I went online to have a look and was instantly inspired by the range. I tried to have some restraint in my pieces, hoping to simplify the forms on the canvas and accentuate the mark making and imperfections.
"I loved the idea of my pieces being textural and raw, juxtaposing the sleek, refined forms of the collection."
How would you describe your home and studio environment?
Messy! I work very spontaneously and I have a very haphazard nature- my studio tends to reflect this. Although I’ve recently just done a massive studio clean out and it feels really good! I’m also a mum of two boys and we don’t allow a lot of tech so we have to put up with the mess instead. Our house is forever being transformed into bases, cubbies, obstacle courses.
Looking ahead, what are your hopes and goals for your practice?
Because my studio is at my home, I’m interested in the idea of making art in a new context such as a different country and to see how that would affect what I make. For that reason, I would love to do an art residency. An escape to take my family where I could focus on my practice and they could come with me and just live slow and enjoy making art.
And finally, what does success look like for you?
I already feel blessed to be able to do what I do now. To be able to work and sell my pieces and work alongside galleries that I have always admired is more success than I could’ve ever hoped for.
