Nicola Lucy is a self-taught British artist in her early twenties, primarily focused on creating realism pieces.
Background
My story starts in a very similar way to a lot of artists: I was very creative growing up. I loved to draw. I loved to write stories. I was constantly daydreaming. I loved the concept of turning my ideas into physical things.
However, I was also a very curious child. I felt the need to try to understand anything and everything that I could. I also loved logic puzzles and problem-solving. My main interest became science.
I stopped taking creative subjects at school when I started my GCSEs early in Year 9. I knew that my career goals in science would benefit from focusing on more academic subjects, and that any creative pursuits could be self-taught.
When I started my A Levels, and throughout my degree, I virtually stopped doing anything creative completely. All of my energy went into my studies. It was frustrating to not be doing anything creative anymore, but it was necessary to get where I wanted to go. I eventually graduated with a degree in BSc (Hons) Neuroscience from one of the best universities in the country, and I started working in a lab full-time.
In the summer after university ended, in the time before I started working full-time, I started making complete art pieces and dedicating serious time to it. Nowadays, I create as and when I can whilst working my full-time job. I find that my attention to detail I gained from working in science, made me really interested in creating realism pieces.
Exhibitions & Events
Manchester Open 2020
18th January – 17th March 2020
My piece entitled “Willow” was one of the pieces featured in HOME Manchester’s ‘Manchester Open 2020‘ exhibition, which closed early on March 17th due to COVID-19. Due to HOME’s fondness for the piece, I was one of three artists asked to attend the press event beforehand, leading to me featuring on TV in BBC One’s North West Tonight and in an article by Cotton On MCR.
Manchester Open 2022
21st January – 27th March 2022
My piece entitled “Be Patient With M.E” was one of the pieces featured in HOME Manchester’s ‘Manchester Open 2022‘ exhibition. This piece represents a very personal struggle relating to my day-to-day life, and so it was an honour to be able to share that with the visitors of the HOME Gallery. This one of a kind print sold at the gallery.
Ambitions
My current goals in terms of art are to:
- Sell more prints independently, rather than relying on a print-on-demand service.
- Improve my traditional art skills, and sell more original artworks.
- Have further pieces in galleries.
Nicola Lucy 