Art / Artist of the Month
Artist of the Month – Alex Lucas
This month’s artist is Alex Lucas, whose limited edition prints of Insane in the Crane and I am Not Afraid of Storms are exclusively available through our online shop.
Alex Lucas views art from a psychologically-beneficial perspective, and is by no means your average artist. As if a degree in multi-media textile design and a master’s degree in animation and illustration wasn’t enough for the illustrator and muralist, after realising the therapeutic benefits of art, she went on to obtain a second master’s in art therapy. According to Alex, “where words fail, the image can bridge the gap”.
Alex has been working as a freelance illustrator for the past eight years in her native Bristol, “completing commissions great and small” as she puts it. Her quirky, humorous designs can be seen across Bristol, including on the first ever Bristol Pound fivers, portraying a recurring theme of animals and wildlife that begins at her own front door. “I painted the outside of my house in Montpelier in 2010 with birds and flowers, and began to open my front window every Saturday to the public, selling my artwork through the ‘Window Shop’,” Alex says.
Some of Alex’s more sizeable murals can be found brightening up Triodos Bank, The Bristol Bike Project and The Little Shop in Stokes Croft, which she launched in the Autumn of 2013 with her friend and fellow artist Amber Elise. What was once a neglected, grubby building now boasts a brand new mural of flying bunnies and pineapples, hosting a wide range of artists every six to eight weeks and showcasing talent from both Bristol and beyond.
She is also currently working on a four-storey stairwell mural at the University of Bristol’s Graduate School of Education. “So far it has been challenging as it’s a three-dimensional area, which is a first for me in terms of painting,” Alex says. “We are halfway through and I am really chuffed with the results as the mural is the most dynamic and interactive I have ever created.”
She will soon also be travelling up to Glasgow to paint murals in a new student build. “It will be fun to be working in a new city,” she says. “I think we are pretty open-minded here in Bristol, with a big DIY ethic which makes our communities exciting and vibrant places to live. Having said that, I’ve never been an artist anywhere else!”
The works Alex is selling through Bristol24/7 are two different designs from limited runs of 25 prints. “I draw everything in pencil and then I use my grandfather’s mapping pen with Chinese ink – such a wonderful rich, solid black. I then scan it in and add colour on the computer,” Alex explains. “One of the works depicts the famous harbourside cranes, and the other is inspired by the Louisa May Alcott quote: ‘I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship’.” It’s a perfect metaphor for the artist’s creativity and boundless new creations.
Profits from artwork sold through Bristol24/7 will be donated to Chandos House, a treatment centre that offers a safe and supportive environment for men to overcome addiction. “I visited Chandos House a few months ago as I have a friend who works as an art therapist,” Alex says. “I was made to feel so welcome by the team and the Chandos brothers and I felt very moved by the experience and would very much like to spread awareness about the amazing work they do.”
See more of Alex’s work at https://lucasantics.com/
See all the work available from Alex and our previous featured artists at www.bristol247.com/shop.
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