Lucy Loveheart

Thank you so much Lucy for agreeing to answer my questions. I simply adore your work! I love the joyful energy of your pictures and I think that your work helps spread fairy magic!

Thank you …you are very kind, Im incredibly flattered…..you have absolutely made my day!

I'd love to know a bit more about you as a person as well as your artistic practice. So....
Could you please tell me a little about your interests?

I love cycling in the sunset, dancing in the moonlight, ‘being’ in my garden, having fun with friends, singing, dressing up, and daydreaming.

When did fairies start cropping up in your work?

I had to kind of bury my love of the magical realm when I tried growing up. But when I was in my early twenties I was invited to put on an exhibition in a theatre which was to be running concurrently with a production of ‘Peter Pan’ . As the story of Peter Pan and the Never Never Land had such profound significance in my childhood, I decided to devote all the paintings in my exhibition about the story. It re-awakened something deep in my heart and ignited a new path forward …and I am delighted to say that I have never looked back

Do you believe in fairies?

Of course!

Lucy studied art for an amazing 6 years, first at Ipswich & Norwich schools of art and then at the Royal College of Art in London.

Firstly, what made you study for such a long amount of time? And secondly what was the most valuable thing that you learned during that time?

I wanted to study as long as I could because I wanted to perfect my art, learn as much as I could from the tutors and students and I just loved being in the environment of an art school which gave me an arena to develop and grow creatively.
The most valuable thing I learnt from that time was the importance of drawing.

Drawing, for me is golden. It is like a unique personal language and tool for communicating.

You have an impressive brand thank you that encompasses textiles, books, painting and greeting cards and you have worked with some dream clients such as Liberty and Kew Gardens. When and how did you transform from Lucy Love Holt into Lucy Loveheart?

Lucy Loveholt is my private ‘self’ and ‘Lucy Loveheart’ is a public persona which grew out of a series of childrens books written by my mother that I illustrated . As a child I always loved dressing up and pretending so it was a natural step for me to adopt a magical version of myself in order to be what I wanted to be. With regards to my brand, I think I have been incredibly lucky, in that I (or my work), have sometimes been at the right place at the right time which has led to some golden opportunities. I have also been privileged in that I work in an incredible team who support and encourage me and help me to do what I love to do.

Has the path always been clear to you or has it been a matter of faith, trust and pixie dust?

Most definitely the latter!

You also use glitter in your artwork and it's so great to find someone else who loves it!

When I was working on my ‘Peter Pan’ exhibition I wanted to somehow describe 'magic’ somehow. The magic of flying and the magic coming from Tinkerbells wand etc. I had an epiphany when I found an old tub of glitter granuals and glue in my art cupboard and I started sprinkling them onto my paintings. it just worked so perfectly. When that happened it felt completely unique to me but I am sure many people at the same sort of time were discovering this as a medium. Now (thankfully) glitter is freely available in myriad colours and forms i.e. glue sticks and tubes and tubs and this makes working with it so much easier and even more enjoyable .

I find that glitter can be problematic though as it doesn't photograph very well.

Personally I love the way silver glitter photographs , as it takes on a lush 3D effect but iridescent glitter is indeed a problem so I steer clear of it before the artwork is photographed and then pile it on afterwards.

and feel that sometimes it is seen as a child's medium. Did you ever see it as a bit of a hurdle for you?

This is not a problem for me as I admire the way in which children paint and create , so to be seen in the same light is flattering. Occasionally I am asked by a client to not adorn my work with glitter and I am very happy to oblige. I have to say this is very rare. Not all pieces require glitter and I enjoy the challenge of being sparing with it or not using it at all.

Do you have any exciting plans that you would like to share?

I have just been working on some new collections of our own brand cards and prints which we are launching in the Autumn. Im so excited as I have worked with my team on the whole process so it feels like it’s a big team effort and its so rewarding being involved at every step. They all have a sprinkling of glitter and fairy dust (of course!). I have also worked on a Christmas collection for the Little White Company which is also being launched in the Autumn

Thank you Lucy so much for sharing your thoughts with me! I loved reading your answers and have now been switched on to the joy of silver glitter! I can't believe I haven't worked with it before.

I can't wait to see your new work!

Thank YOU so much for reading - I'd love to know your thoughts about your favourite fairy art.

If you would like to follow Lucy then you can find her website: http://www.lucyloveheart.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucyloveheartart
Twitter: @loveheartltd