Artist and Printmaker
(1956 – 2021)
Lucie’s Approach to Printmaking in her own words
“A painterly approach to printmaking has always been central to my work. I take my subject matter from my extensive travel experiences in Asia as well as the more immediate natural environment. I often work directly onto the plate, sketching the image and developing the work as a painting, making decisions as the work develops”.
Background to Lucie’s Artistic Development
Lucie loved and lived for art and from childhood was always sketching and drawing. Lucie was greatly encouraged by her father Bertold Hornung who was a talented artist and architect. After completing a fine art degree and a masters degree in librarianship Lucie joined VSO and travelled to Nepal to work as librarian in the Engineering Campus, Kathmandu. Lucie and Jim met in Kathmandu, married and then travelled with family to Indonesia, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Lucie continued to sketch and paint while bringing up a young family. On return to the UK, Lucie took up an art technician post in the Art Department at Sir John Lawes School in Harpenden headed by the inspirational John Miles. Here Lucie worked with students to produce some outstanding printed pieces. Lucie then took up printing full time and practiced her craft in her studio at home and at Hertfordshire University Printing, the Southbank Printmakers and latterly at the Dekkle Printmaking studio with David Borrington. Lucie loved colour, was bold in her compositions and was a stickler for precision and truthfulness. The range of Lucie’s work is shown in this catalogue where she brings day to day subjects to life in her own inimitable style. Lucie’s warm, open and loving personality shines through her art.
By James, Colin and Brian Green. October 2024
David Borrington’s words I think best sum up Lucie’s approach to art.
When I first met Lucie, she quietly and confidently came into my studio. Within minutes it was no longer my workshop, she eyed up the presses and benches choosing her space to work, right next to our 19th century Albion press. This was now her spot where she always worked. She set up home there and she was one of the only members where the space is left cleaner than when she arrived. As a professional Artist and Fine Art printmaker, it was always refreshing to have Lucie in the workshop, I hope she would agree with me on that. She wasn’t a purist with her printmaking, but an Artist who happened to be using Print, who fully appreciated the craft of printmaking but not allowing that to dictate or limit her overall Art. She did this with great success.
Like a true artist she knew what she wanted but allowed the process to guide her and respond creatively. This allowed her to create very painterly imagery. Such heavy graphical techniques such as lino and woodblock printing, which don’t usually lend themselves easily to this effect. Her imagery was influenced by her travels and life experiences, a potter in Kathmandu, women washing clothes by the river side in India. All these images filled with colour and movement. Her work had the ability to appear both abstract and figurative at the same time, as the overlaying of colour and shape could sometimes be overwhelming. However, within that conflict of material and concept it created a unique environment for Lucie to excel in her practice.
I can probably count the number of artists who I have worked with who have the same intense relationship to colour in their work on one hand. It was like watching Beethoven conducting, colour across 5 to 10 plates to make one single image. Nothing is making sense until the last print which brings the whole thing together.
Lucie was modest about her own achievements, I believe this is a sign of a true artist, she was hugely proud of getting into the RA summer show in 2014, especially as it was an excellent piece that was accepted: a beautiful delicate woodcut. She was also members of the highly respected Printmakers Council and Southbank Printmakers.
Lucie joined my studio, Dekkle, back in 2011. She was always pushing the processes and not compromising on her idea until she was happy with the image.