Jeff Lucas is a founder of Artport Festival and Secretary of the festival committee. Jeff’s extensive and longstanding interest in the arts and curatorial eye helps to shape the festival. We are delighted that Jeff is the inaugural artist in our 2023 season of online artist residencies.
BIO
Prior to moving to Portishead from Bristol in 2015, Jeff was instrumental in establishing an Art Trail in Westbury Park ( now part of the North Bristol Art Trail). On moving to Portishead he was surprised to find no regular exhibitions for local artists, so he used his experience to organise small shows regularly at Cafe Lido for a few years and helped to get the "Portishead Round the Houses" Art Trail up and running (sadly now wound up).
Jeff took up photography, purely as an amateur, about 10 years ago. Since then, amongst other accolades, he has had his work selected for a RWA autumn show and had his work commended in the annual Sony World Photography competition.
Three years ago he was the principal author of "From Brycgstow to Bristol in 45 Bridges" (published by Bristol Books and still one of their bestselling titles) which is beautifully illustrated with Jeff's superb colour photographs of all 45 bridges of Bristol.
Buy Jeff’s beautiful record of the bridges of Bristol here:
BIO
Prior to moving to Portishead from Bristol in 2015, Jeff was instrumental in establishing an Art Trail in Westbury Park ( now part of the North Bristol Art Trail). On moving to Portishead he was surprised to find no regular exhibitions for local artists, so he used his experience to organise small shows regularly at Cafe Lido for a few years and helped to get the "Portishead Round the Houses" Art Trail up and running (sadly now wound up).
Jeff took up photography, purely as an amateur, about 10 years ago. Since then, amongst other accolades, he has had his work selected for a RWA autumn show and had his work commended in the annual Sony World Photography competition.
Three years ago he was the principal author of "From Brycgstow to Bristol in 45 Bridges" (published by Bristol Books and still one of their bestselling titles) which is beautifully illustrated with Jeff's superb colour photographs of all 45 bridges of Bristol.
Buy Jeff’s beautiful record of the bridges of Bristol here:
DAY 1 | ‘The Pastel Painter’
“This "portrait" was taken in the studio of Michelle Lucking - Portishead's highly esteemed professional pastel artist. I had asked to take some photos of her at work on one of her "paintings" - as they are properly called. The picture she was working on was pinned to the wall above the frame of my shot, and as it was a warm summer day she had removed her shoes. By happy coincidence, the main colour of the painting and the pastels she was using were both a deep blue which matched Michelle's jeans. As she worked, I was fascinated by the way the tiny amounts of loose powder that fell from the tip of her pastel as she worked were accumulating like blue snow on the cream carpet and skirting board below. I particularly like the way the curves and tension of the chair legs are echoed in Michelle's outstretched leg on the right. "
DAY 2 | ‘The Wind-miller’s Mother’
“My great-great grandfather was a wind-miller in Leicestershire in the late nineteenth century. The mill survives but became derelict in the 1920's and lost its sails. In the early 2000's it was bought and restored with a new set of sails by an enthusiast and his mother and is now once again producing bags of flour. This is my portrait of this doughty lady taking a tea break in the mill. As she showed me around the flour-dusty interior , she climbed up and down the several flights of rickety narrow wooden stairs ( ladders really) with great agility - and me in tow. Respect!
DAY 3 | ‘Late Night at the Watersheds’
“My favorite photographic subjects are architecture and "the street". This "street" photo was taken late one evening at the pancake bar ( it may be something different now) at the head of St Augustine's Reach in Bristol. I suddenly saw an Edward Hopper painting come to life! The young woman is far away as she stares out in the distance, talking on the phone to ......her boyfriend? The ghostly image of the man in black receding into the darkness and the detritus on the floor add a further air of mystery - has something just happened? Was the man talking to her just now...?”
DAY 4 | ‘At Battery Point’
“Most residents of Portishead know that Battery Point in Portishead is the closest point of approach of international shipping to the UK coastline. Huge ships like this are heading for nearby Avonmouth docks- each containing 3000 - 4000 new cars for import or export. This photo tries to capture the grandeur of seeing these behemoths up close.”
DAY 5 | ‘Tulips’
“I didn't "stage" this still life. We had just stuck a bunch of tulips in a vase in the corner of our front room. In the afternoon I noticed it was lit beautifully by the afternoon sun so I got out my camera. Well OK, I may have arranged the flowers a bit. I like the simplicity of this photo. The colours of the flowerheads stand out beautifully against the pale grey background which has the added interest of the shaded corner. The stalks remind me of a candelabra. I think there is a touch of melancholy in this photograph - the flowers seem to be losing the fight against the inexorable force of gravity.”
