Lucy du Sautoy

Having previously had a career in marketing, in 2015 Lucy graduated from the Art Academy in London, with a First Class diploma in Fine Art. During the summer of that year, her painting “Daydreaming” was shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and recently, Lucy was named Artists and Illustrators Magazine 'Artist of the Year, 2019'.

Lucy du Sautoy's paintings are created from a spirit of daydreaming and distraction.

“Research has shown that we all live in a sort of parallel universe slipping between focused attention, and our own personal inner daydreaming world.   We actually spend about half our waking lives daydreaming - a mind wandering state that exists between conscious, task related, thought and sleep.  Daydreams often occur during moments of routine and boredom; and can take the form of fleeting unstructured mental associations, or carefully imagined fantasies.  In a 24/7 world where we spend much of our lives bombarded with information and images, daydreaming offers us an opportunity for freedom and escape.  It is actually pretty central to what it means to be human and alive today.

In my paintings I try to capture the absent minded, daydreaming in-between moments which punctuate our day-to-day existence, such as the journey, or the absent-minded doodling on a foggy window.  I want my work to have a sense of familiarity, which resonates with the viewer on a level that is absolutely personal to them. For me, a painting is successful if it sparks a recognition that allows the viewer to overlay it with their own experience, creating hazy recollections and contemplation.  

It is not only the transience of the image being painted but the method in which it is captured which interests me.  You usually find these sorts of images captured on iPhones and shared on instagram rather that rendered in oil paint and hung on a gallery wall.  Is it a bit silly to paint a smiley face in an oil painting? Yes!  But, for me, the silliness is kind of the point.  I am most pleased when people say “I saw your painting and it made me smile.” I think we all need more of that in our lives.”