Lucy Finch
Can you believe these were made with pastels?! These soft, luscious, pastel paintings by Lucy Finch are meticulously created from still life observations, taking weeks or months to complete. Combining realism with a touch of humor, Finch portrays her lead life experience in unexpected ways, adding a modern perspective to a traditional medium. She studied at the Masters' Atelier of Drawing and Painting under Nancy Lucas-Williams in Port Townsend, Washington. Finch lives and works in New Mexico.
She shares:
When I was in college, I studied art history and never realized that over 95% of the artists presented were men. I was ridiculously naive. Now, as I do my own self-study of women in art history I feel a connection across time. Many of these artists struggled to balance their partner’s needs, family obligations, and finances with time in the studio, just as I do. Seeing how they succeeded in creating beautiful art, often simply for the sake of creating art—without recognition, sales, or institutions to support and promote them—inspires me.
I'm lucky to be creating art when there is more appreciation for the female perspective. Even so, the struggle continues. Perseverance and grit are necessary. My soft pastel paintings explore my life—what I experience and need, yes need, to talk about: a shift in our cultural gender power structures, the balance between feminine and masculine, and honoring the heart/body, not just the mind.
My art is my voice, and I hope that someday it will be a bridge for future artists to understand they too are not alone and their artist journey is worth the struggle.
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