STYLE MAKER Meet artist and ceramicist Lucia Fraser
Artist Lucia Fraser dips into her experiences of sea, sky and scenery to create captivating floating-world paintings and ceramics
On her morning journey to work at a studio in London’s Lee Valley, artist and ceramicist Lucia Fraser is already getting into a quieter space: ‘I walk across the marshes and past a riding stables, taking in the scenery – it feels like I’m leaving London, departing the city. I am very much inspired by nature, by bigger spaces and landscapes, so that escape is lovely for me.’
Lucia’s dreamy, beautifully liquid paintings of indeterminate places make you stand back and take a breath, and she has gradually perfected a way of expressing her artistic style on covetable ceramics for the home too – with Heal’s stocking an exclusive range of Lucia’s prints, bowls and elegant shoulder vases. ‘I started making ceramics because I wanted to experiment with painting on a 3D surface, and investigate how this evolves the aesthetic – all of my designs have very flat surfaces, so I think the connection to my painting work is very tangible and interconnected.’
Lucia splits her time between her home where she paints, and a large old industrial warehouse co-working studio where she creates her ceramics. ‘For painting, you need great light and quiet, whereas with ceramics, you need access to lots of different equipment,’ says Lucia. ‘There is a great community of people in the studio, all making and using the kilns – it’s very inspiring. I have my own cubicle and am constantly plugged into my playlist to get into a state where I’m unconsciously making marks, not thinking about each thing I do. I recently had an artist’s residency in Iceland – which was wonderful and completely changed my colour palette – and now I’m into atmospheric Icelandic music, too!’
Lucia’s inspiration comes from wide open spaces, hazy horizons, from the sky and sea: ‘I grew up spending summers on the coast in Wales and as a teenager I would visit my father who all but lived on his boat on the west coast of Scotland. We would sail around the islands together and it left an imprint on me.’
Using mainly acrylics and inks, Lucia has her own unconventional way of working: she likes to get down on the floor to paint and will then often rotate the canvas round on the wall so the ink can move and find its natural path. ‘I barely use a brush, I just let it run,’ she explains. ‘For me, it is all about memory and the feeling I had when I was looking out at the sea – and then translating that into what I am doing. I love it when people say my paintings make them calmer; that’s what I feel when I’m painting.’ Find out more at luciafraser.com
OPPOSITE Lucia in her studio; the backdrop, available as a giclée print, is Ardvreck THIS PAGE, FROM
TOP LEFT Applying paint to what will become one of Lucia’s signature Tide vases; ceramics in virgin and varnished forms sit on shelves; shoulder vases in a matt white glaze; plate washed in shades of blue; layered teal glazes on Lucia’s trademark shoulder design
‘I love it when people say my paintings make them feel calmer’