About lucy marks

Contemporary Landscape Painter

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Lucy Marks grew up in and around Brighton. Lucy has worked for over 20 years as a professional painter. Her practise focuses on capturing landscapes and seascapes in Oil, Watercolour and Gouache. Lucy is an observational landscape painter, who works en plein air working directly from the subject, out in all weathers and seasons. Observation is key and her compositions are drawn from real places. Lucy works alla prima responding directly to the scene to gain a freshness in her work. She works to capture an impression of the mood, atmosphere, and light. In the studio, she uses her en plein air works and field sketches to scale up her paintings to much larger work.

CV

Lucy holds an MA in Fine Art from Brighton University, is an Associate Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and an Associate Member of the Royal Watercolour Society. She is a full member of the Chelsea Art Society and the Society of Women Artists. Her work has also been shown in the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Show, the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, and the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition to name but a few.

Lucy has undertaken a number of large solo shows. In 2021, she was invited by the Petworth House, National Trust, to paint their park and gardens culminating in a three-month solo show, ‘Dawn to Dusk’, exhibited in the historic house itself. And in 2022, Lucy showed a large body of both oil and watercolours based on three walks John Constable undertook in and around Brighton. ‘Constable’s Walks’ was exhibited in the new Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, Whitcomb Street, London. In 2024, ‘Times of the Day’ showcased over 80 new works in oil, watercolour, and gouache, through which Lucy explored the effects of light across landscapes and seascapes from dawn through the day and into the night. This was also exhibited at the Royal Watercolour Society Gallery in London.

In 2022 Lucy was awarded the ‘Sloane Stanley Medal’ at the Chelsea Art Society. She was also a finalist in the 2022 British Art Prize for her large oil “Golden Dusk” (120 x 200cm). Lucy has shown and sold large oil paintings at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in both 2022 and 2023. In 2020, she was a Finalist for the Drawing Bursary at the ING Discerning Eye, where she also won the Humphrey’s Purchase Prize in 2019.


CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

NOTABLE Exhibitions

  • Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI), Mall Galleries, 2008, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

  • Royal Academy, Summer Exhibition, 2022, 2023

  • Society of Women Artists, Mall Galleries, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

  • Royal Watercolour Society (RWS), Bankside Gallery, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

  • ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024

  • Chelsea Art Society, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 20120, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

  • Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition, 2019

memberships

  • Associate Member of Royal Institute of Oil Painters (elected 2023) 

  • Associate Member of Royal Watercolour Society (elected 2021)

  • Full Member Chelsea Art Society (elected 2022)

  • Full Member Society of Women Artists (elected 2022)

Past Solo Exhibitions 


WAY OF WORKING

Lucy is an observational artist and paints directly from life. She works in both oil and watercolour and paints en plein air and also in her studio. Lucy works alla prima responding directly to the scene to gain a freshness in her work.  She works to capture an impression of the mood, atmosphere, and light.  In the studio, she uses her en plein air works and field sketches to scale up her paintings to much larger work.

En Plein Air

Lucy primarily paints from life, outside in the landscape. She can be seen in all weathers out with her paints. Lucy’s goal is to convey an impression, a mood, a feeling. Her work is responsive and painterly.

Lucy is a full time painter and paints most days. She works outside most weeks painting and sketching in the landscape or along the coast.

It is essential for her that her landscapes come from a rooted place of reality.

IN THE Studio

In the studio, she uses her en plein air works and field sketches to scale up her paintings to much larger work.

Her process allows her to carry the freshness of the observation captured in her plein air work through into her studio painting.

 

this year (2025)


March 2025 - Royal Watercolour Society Spring Show

February 2025 - Small Works Show, Arundel Contemporary, Arundel

January 2025 - Royal Watercolour Society Mini-Picture Show

January 2025 - Pastel Society Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

2008 - 2024 (click + to expand)