We were lucky to catch up with Lucy Finch recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lucy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
When we are young our parents want the best for us and often encourage us to make safe, risk/free choices. I listened to my parents’ advice and tried my best to stay on the straight and narrow path: get a college degree, get a good job, and get married to a good man. Of those three things I accomplished two: a BFA in Political Science and a healthy relationship with my husband. But a career eluded me, I tried a lot of different jobs including: professional bra fitter, ski technician, Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa, government agency admin, belly dance troupe leader and show producer, graphic designer, plus many, many, more. Along the way I found success but never felt fulfilled or content. Work felt like, well, work. The only part of my many jobs that I really enjoyed was when I could do something creative–designing posters, brochures, invitations, signs, etc. Then at age 49 I found myself enrolled in an atelier where I learned how to see and draw what I saw. It was an awakening that simultaneously felt like a homecoming. I was able to draw something in 2D that looked 3D and was truly fine art. From that moment there was doubt in my mind, I am an artist and proud of it.
Lucy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a Classical Realism painter and work from life–no photographs. In my black box studio I set up tableaus complete with lighting and work with the sight-size method using simple tools like plum lines, black mirrors, and a viewfinder. All of my paintings are 100% soft pastel and I use symbolism to tell stories and share my experiences and female perspective. For example a woman’s life is often said to have three parts: maiden, mother, crone–or as I like to call them: maiden, menstruating, matriarch. My latest still life used a white rose for its symbolism of purity to represent our purpose/intention/spirit and showed the rose as a bud as the maiden years when we don’t know our calling, a slightly open bud as our menstruating years when we start to mature, and as a fully open rose for our matriarch years when we know who we are and are at our most powerful.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I feel like I’ve finally found my voice and my vocabulary for sharing my life experiences. Up until now I’ve felt scattered and at the whim of life’s currents but now I feel like I’m at the helm and working with the ebbs and flows to go where I want.
I work from life–no photographs. In my black box studio I set up tableaus complete with lighting and work with the sight-size method using simple tools like plum lines, black mirrors, and a viewfinder. All of my paintings are 100% soft pastel.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Go see art live! Museums, galleries, studio tours, art fairs, auctions, fundraisers, and anywhere you see it. And while you are there become a collector by purchasing some art to enjoy in your home! Every art purchase helps an artist. And, if you find a particular artist with whom you connect, find out what they need and become their patron. Maybe along the way you will make a new friend.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mosstudiocr.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mosstudiocr/