Lucie Flynn is a UK-based contemporary artist whose practice explores emotion, transition and the quiet spaces between endings and beginnings. Working with mixed media, layered text, and the female form, she creates pieces that reflect the often-unseen thresholds women move through during periods of change.
Her work combines spray paint, acrylic, ink, and collage, building textured surfaces where words are partially revealed and partially concealed. Language becomes both anchor and atmosphere. Rather than offering resolution, her compositions unfold slowly, inviting reflection rather than conclusion.
Flynn’s practice has evolved into a more contemplative, studio-led approach, grounded in subtlety and emotional honesty. Alongside her own work, she collaborates with brands, charities, and community organisations, using art as a vehicle for connection and shared expression. She is particularly drawn to projects that amplify women’s voices and lived experience.
From her Surrey studio, Flynn also runs process-led creative workshops for women of all abilities. These sessions prioritise exploration, play and authenticity over perfection, creating space for making without pressure. Her work has been featured in publications including The Telegraph, GQ, Vogue, Living Etc and BBC Southeast News, and is held in private collections worldwide as well as in homes across the UK.
Your work explores the space between major life changes and new What first drew you to these quieter, transitional moments?
I was first drawn to these quieter moments through my own experiences. When I began making the work, I was trying to understand that space in between major life changes – the pause where reflection and healing can happen.
As I started talking about this more, both with other women and through sharing my work on social media, I realised how many of us recognise that place. It’s often where we find ourselves: no longer where we were, but not quite in the next chapter yet.
My work explores that in-between space, with a focus on resilience, presence and quiet confidence. I’m interested in representing women who stay connected to their inner strength, even during challenging times.
Layered text plays a central role in your How do you decide which words remain visible and which are obscured?
The words need to connect immediately and feel authentic. Many women are not confident sharing feelings of confusion or uncertainty at first, but over time they often recognise similar experiences in each other.
In my paintings, some words remain visible while others are obscured, as if the louder, clearer ones are allowed to stay, leaving softer moments partially hidden. This creates space for reflection and allows the work to act as a personal mirror.
I hope viewers feel recognition and connection, understand that difficult experiences can lead to growth, and are gently encouraged to value the moments in between, where change begins.
The female presence within your work often feels introspective rather than What emotional states or experiences are you most interested in exploring through these figures?
You’re absolutely right – the figures in my work are very introspective. When I’m painting in the studio, I’m reflecting on my own life experiences, which have at times been challenging but also deeply instructive. Working in layers – adding, redacting, letting time pass between marks – allows me to explore history, memory, and change within the work itself.
I am interested in connections: the shared stories and emotional experiences that many women carry. These figures become a way to explore resilience, presence, and strength, as well as the moments of reflection, uncertainty, and growth that are often private but universally recognised.
Your recent work feels more reflective and studio-based. What prompted this shift in pace and process?
In 2023 I went through a very difficult closure of a relationship – it left me feeling disoriented, particularly in my work and sense of self. Through therapy and participating in domestic abuse workshops, I slowly began to reconnect with my intuition and rebuild my resilience. During that time I also met many other women who had experienced similar – and often far worse situations. It made me realise how common these experiences can be, and how important it is that we speak about them openly.
The work I’ve created over the past year emerges from that period of reflection. The studio became a space to process and transform difficult experiences into something constructive and creative. Phrases such as “I cannot wait to make art about this” and “You survived the part no one saw” trace the journey of change and growth that underpins the collection.
You combine spray paint, acrylic, ink, and How do these materials interact to shape the emotional tone of a piece?
I work with layered ink, acrylic, and spray paint to create surfaces that carry both visual and emotional history. The materials interact in unpredictable ways, they resist and crackle against each other, some marks are wiped away by hand, others require washes to obscure brushstrokes, and some are completely over painted – blocked out. This process mirrors how we deal with life: some experiences we carry, some we work to release, and some fade gradually over time. Marks, colour, and text layer and emerge, sometimes partially obscured, reflecting both the visible and hidden layers of experience. Each piece becomes a record of moments, emotion, and change.
Much of your work resists neat Is ambiguity important to you as an artist?
I think the idea of “resolution” is a little misleading – in life, so much is ongoing, layered, and never fully concluded. I want the paintings to feel alive, still evolving, with an ethereal, almost magical quality. They can feel dreamlike, yet are rooted in real, often silenced stories. The tension between what is visible and what is hidden mirrors how experiences unfold, and leaves space for each viewer to find their own reflective place within the work.
Alongside your studio practice, you collaborate with brands and How do you ensure authenticity when working in a commercial or community context?
Collaborating with brands and charities is always meaningful, but I’m selective about the projects I take on. Authenticity comes from working with people and organisations whose values align with my own. I’ve contributed to an empowerment day with East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services, supported creative initiatives with Shelter, and taken part in my local arts festival, bringing creativity and expression to the wider community. Whether it’s a brand partnership or a community project, I’m drawn to collaborations where the work can connect with people in a real way and feel true to my practice.
Your workshops centre exploration and emotional How does teaching influence your own creative development?
First of all, I’d like to say thank you for picking up on my workshops and the link to my work.
I get as much out of my women’s workshops as the participants do. I take them very seriously and put a lot of energy into ensuring that each woman leaves with a piece of work that is authentically hers. I guide them to find something within themselves – an insight, a feeling, or a story and we materialise it through my expressive, painterly style, all within a safe and supportive space. The women often confide in me, and I feel incredibly honoured to be able to hold that space for them.
Supporting them in this way also gives me insight and strength in my own work and reflects back in my practice.
Your work has been featured in major publications and collected Has wider recognition changed your relationship to your practice?
Lately, I’ve preferred not to compare my work to others’ expectations and to focus on creating in my own space, with the music up loud. At the same time, wider recognition has given me more confidence in my message, and in the value of making work that speaks honestly to experience and emotion.
Looking ahead, are there new themes or collaborations you are particularly drawn to exploring?
I’m exploring collaborative projects with female-led brands and am in talks with other female artists about creating work together, experimenting with new techniques and surfaces – even the human body. I have some private workshops coming up and am excited about my first podcast interview, which will explore women’s ‘fuck-it’ moments and how we redirect ourselves in midlife. I want to get out there and connect, while moving into bold, expansive, celebratory projects.
You can currently view Lucie’s work at Zebra One Gallery in Hamsptead, London zebraonegallery
For more information you can visit Lucie’s website and Instragram
