LYDIA RAIN United Kingdom

Back to profiles

Throughout my life I have leapt from one ice floe to another, with a mental map that didn't match my surroundings, until now. My self-taught fine art practice = painting in watercolour/oils, pastel drawing, printing, bookbinding, landscapes and portraits. I work part time as PA to a disabled artist, also help run weekly art and creative writing sessions as a volunteer and sell work at art fairs.

Artist's Statement

My practice has evolved considerably over the five years since I began my artistic journey. I am driven by a desire to capture and translate intense visual and human experiences into two-dimensional form, working predominantly with wet and dry media. My experience of dyspraxia, dyslexia and visual difficulties presents continual challenges in hand-eye coordination, but has also shaped the direction of my work, drawing me towards looser, more intuitive and impressionistic forms of expression.

I am fascinated by the unpredictable fluid dynamics of painting: the interplay of physics and chemistry, the behaviour of materials and the unexpected outcomes that emerge through experimentation and the relinquishing of control. I am interested in how the eye and mind instinctively search for patterns, connections and meaning within the apparent chaos of the visible world, and how images can offer a kind of psychic affirmation of the unseen experiences that shape our everyday lives.

For me, art is a way of giving voice to unspoken stories through a shared visual language. It provides a means of exploring and negotiating my relationship with reality, while questioning and interpreting my inner experiences. My work frequently begins with instinctive movement rather than a predetermined outcome. I allow the process to unfold, embracing chance, ambiguity and discovery as the image gradually reveals its own narrative.

I am particularly drawn to the forms, textures and atmosphere of open landscapes: expanses of water, rolling hills and distant horizons. These spaces hold a duality of escape and refuge, suggesting freedom, solitude and sometimes desolation. I am captivated by the hypnotic hues and shifting tonalities of the natural world, its contrasts of light and darkness, which often become reflections of an internal psychological landscape.

Beyond my own artistic practice, I am committed to exploring and promoting the mental health benefits of creativity. Through voluntary work, I help facilitate a weekly art session and lead a bi-monthly creative writing workshop. I believe in the transformative potential of creative expression and its capacity to connect people, encourage self-discovery and give form to experiences that might otherwise remain unspoken.