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AstroArtist of the Month - Lucy West (4 of 4)

Interview with the Space Artist “Tapestry of Time” Q1: I see you work in acrylics as your most common medium. Many artists today have gone the “digital” route. What is it that you find so interesting about using physical paints on canvas? I appreciate the organics and alchemy of mixing paints, and the interplay between me, the brushes, paints and canvas. I don't experience the same immersion through digital medium. Painting is all very tactile and engaging, and at times its visceral or emotional. Also, its physical. Because I work large scale I rely on my entire body to participate in painting, and often find myself reflecting on my childhood training in ballet that taught me grace, balance and patience. I experience this through the long graceful sweeps of my arms as I softly blend large blocks of color, and the way my body leans into the strokes and holds the position even when I'm fatigued; the intentional rhythmic flick of my wrist in short strong strokes and how that reverberates through me and cause the canvas to bounce back at me; the way I glide back and forth away from the canvas to get a wider perspective and come back in to work detail; how I pivot and balance from one foot to the other when reaching to dab in detail; the way new ideas start to morph in front of me on the canvas and force me to keep up with the pace. For me, each new project is similar to dancing with... Read More..