Lucy Hardie is an Australian artist specialising in fine pen and ink drawings. Represented by Port Jackson Press Australia, she holds a Bachelor of Illustration from the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE, and studied with US artist Philip Rubinov Jacobson in mischtechnik, an Old Masters’ method of painting with egg tempera combined with other substances.
Her symbolic nuances propel the viewer’s imagination while encapsulating the fundamental elements of life, death, and spirituality. Executed with a detailed composition of light and dark layers and sinuous fine lines, the result of her vision is a meticulously rendered work of art. It’s there, in her illustrations, where a visual language of romanticism, fantasy, and natural phenomenon speaks for itself. With a style reminiscent of late illustrator and author Aubrey Beardsley, Hardie’s technical arrangements, personifications, and elaborate portraiture create a state of beauty and mystery that inhabits her subjects. Utilizing pen and ink on cotton rag, she explains, “Black and white have formed my palette, representing the duality of our natures.”
Lucy Hardie’s work will be on display in the upcoming show, Femme Fatale, at Metropolis Gallery in Geelong, Victoria. The exhibition opens Friday, August 1st, and runs through August 16th, 2014. There will also be an Artists’ Talk from 2-3:30pm on Saturday, August 9th. To preview works online or receive additional artist information, please contact the gallery directly.
