The artwork and imaginings of contemporary Scottish artist Lucy Campbell
“I am a painter and picture-story-teller, working from home in my native Scotland, where I am surrounded by big beautiful hills and woods and wild things (my two boys, owls, foxes, blackbirds and bumblebees). I am inspired by the wild, its lore and its creatures; I also love the wild inside, and the symbols we use to express what goes on in there. I strive to express wildness, whimsy and wonder in equal measures.
I paint to connect; I see the purpose of creating as providing a conduit for people to feel connected with their wild self, their child self; their furred, feathered, winged, untamed self. The subjects I paint are either engaged in a deep, soulful hug, or in magical flight – the flight of the unfettered imagination; always in connection with a spirit creature, to represent a connection with the wild within. I see this as important because I see in the world so much disconnect with nature, with wildness, with our deepest instincts. I understand it as a longing and hope for peace, reassurance, healing. More often than not I paint children with their animals; in trusting, protective and protected embraces with their wild selves. I see trust and love and wildness as crucial things that need to be expressed and shared.”