Ben Lucas is an award-winning emerging artist. His paintings have a graceful and evocative presence and have been exhibited in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Now residing in the United Kingdom, his portfolio of paintings are a direct response to the unique light and colours of the Coast. That ever-changing margin where land, sea and sky join at the edge of the ocean. The artist is as concerned with capturing and conveying the emotions evoked by the landscape as he is with capturing the landscape itself.Previous to Ben’s arrival in the UK, he participated and painted out of his studio in Noosa, Queensland. This shaped the way he viewed the ever-changing light and coastline of East Coast Australia and the Pacific Ocean. Ben’s family has a strong background in the arts. He is the son of the artist Caroline Lucas as well as being the brother of the portrait painter Fanny Rush and the sculptor Joe Rush. He is also the Grandson of the author Mary Norton best known for the children’s classics ‘The Borrowers’ and ‘Bed knobs and Broomsticks’. In addition, his grandfather was the pioneering modernist architect Colin Lucas who received an OBE for his work. Colin was also member of ‘Unit One’ the British grouping of Modernist artists founded by Paul Nash. “With my painting there’s always this tension or balance between portraying what is seen and what is felt, echoing the words of the great romantic painter John Constable who said, “painting is but another word for feeling." Artist StatementI paint from memory, drawing on time spent watching the changing moods of the ocean and the play of light over and into its surface. Using a variety of tools and brushes I freely manipulate the paint on the canvas until I feel that the painting is complete. This can be over a period of weeks as I layer fresh paint over the dry surface. I’m always looking for a sense of immediacy in the work and try to avoid overworking the paintings – sometimes knowing when to stop is the hardest thing. In my view the paintings are a success when they hold a dramatic energy and sense of movement while at the same time carrying a peaceful quiet presence. It’s this tension between these two contrasts that I find so fascinating. When asked what I paint I sometimes find myself describing my paintings as emotional landscapes, which is to say that they draw on feelings and memories inspired by life as well as the natural world that I gain such inspiration from.