CONTEMPORARY Cotswold artist Lucy Pratt is unveiling her latest body of work in a solo exhibition entitled All Around Me at The Fosse Gallery, The Manor House, The Square, Stow on the Wold from Sunday, November 6-26.

The 30 paintings in the show embrace the views and subjects that Lucy holds close to her heart, the love of the countryside, both sea and landscapes, her home and garden.

Lucy has lived in the Cotswolds close to Chipping Norton all her life and many of the paintings are of local scenes, such as Bell Lane in Hook Norton showing off the familiar colour of the ironstone, cattle in Evenlode, the windmill at Compton Wynyates, the local book shop and Bliss Mill, both well known Chipping Norton views.

Her paintings are all bursting with warmth and vitality and convey her own tireless energy and zest for life.

Holidays are spent in the Isle of Wight and Cornwall where she has forged a generation of friendships with the fishermen and artists. Steephill Beach and May Waters in the Isle of Wight portray the timeless traditions while cleverly capturing the colour, the vibrancy of light and sheer joie de vivre.

Autumn and winter are well documented with January Sheep, Green lines, February and Magical March showing the glory of the Cotswolds in all its seasons.

Lucy's passions are also well documented: her love of her garden, Dudley the lurcher and Cuthbert the 45 year old parrot, all find a place in the show.

Lucy comes from a strong artistic family on both sides, her father is a successful artist, her mother paints and her grandmother was a potter. Born in 1970 in Oxfordshire, she studied at Banbury School of Art, Loughborough School of Art and Cheltenham School of Art.

She worked at MOMA (Oxford) before teaching life drawing at Cheltenham School of Art.

She has had many successful shows in the USA, Far East and London and her paintings have been exhibited in the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition three times. This is Lucy's fifth solo show at The Fosse Gallery.

  • The exhibition can be viewed on-line at fossegallery.com from mid October. Opening hours are Monday-Saturday, 10.30am-5pm. The Private View is on Sunday, November 6 from 11am -4pm.