Lucie Davison
Lucie was born in the 1950s in Far North Queensland. She and her brothers all agree that they were the luckiest of children to live there, growing up without shoes, electricity, indoor toilets or mains water, but with a freedom that could hardly be conceived of for children now. She also had the benefit of a well-rounded Queensland public education that left her with a love of history and the English language.
She ran away to New Zealand when she was 16 years old, and left her heart in Taranaki when she returned to Australia to train as a nurse at Royal Canberra Hospital. She worked as a nurse and, once she had children, a public servant, ending that career as a ministerial writer and Hansard editor. Lucie studied English literature and creative writing at the University of New England.
Lucie was forced to retire in 2016 when she was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyletis (ME), formerly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Despite this extreme limitation on her life, she still manages to research and edit books for the publishing company she jointly owns with Rob Gray, Only Slightly Foxed Publications, as well as creating and exhibiting fine art collages.
While having a chronic illness does not define Lucie’s art practice, it ‘meant I really had to examine what was important to me and focus on those priorities’, which entailed a shift in her art practice from plein air watercolour landscapes and large, abstract acrylic paintings to collage.
Having learned watercolour techniques from an exhibiting member of the Royal Art Society and, having been primarily a watercolourist for more than 30 years, this was quite a journey. While Lucie still loves the planned, serendipitous nature of watercolours, she has learned to embrace the same factors in analog collage.
Exhibitions and Collections
2021 South Australian Living Artists
2021 Coral Street Artspace, Victor Harbor, South Australia
2022 Port Elliot Show, South Australia
2023 Gallery M, Adelaide, South Australia
Lucie's works are represented in collections in Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.