How Yorkshire artist Lucy Pitaway became the UK's most popular published artist for the third time

“It feels absolutely fantastic, it is such an honour,” she says. “I am always delighted and surprised when I receive an award; it’s a humbling experience and it has come about by having a wonderful team behind me and a great following. Those are the people I have to thank.”

As for everyone, the past two-and-a-half years have been challenging – but for Pittaway as an artist and a businesswoman it has been particularly tough.

The arts were hard hit over the pandemic with venues closing and essential revenue streams shut down. With four galleries to run – in Richmond, Brompton-on-Swale, Yarm and Keswick – that meant Pittaway and her team had some quick thinking to do in order to ensure their survival.

“It has been extremely hard – I think it has been the two most stressful years in my life,” she says. “You just didn’t know what was coming and you didn’t have the answers to the questions your staff were asking. I was really wondering whether we would survive as a business. We had to close our galleries and start operating online, we had to think very smartly.

“It doesn’t matter how popular you are or how great an artist – it was about making tough business decisions. The furlough scheme and business loans and grants that were available were helpful but so much had to change so quickly and we had to learn new skills overnight. All that completely sapped my creative energy for a while.”

That was exacerbated by the fact that she had injured herself while gardening – a torn tendon in her right forearm meant that sketching and painting was very difficult. “My arm was strapped up for seven months and that caused me great anxiety,” she says.

“Every time I tried to paint, the repetitive action caused it to flare up again. So, I painted only a handful of pieces in 2020 but they actually became great sellers for us.”

The pictures she created during that difficult time were, she says, straight “from the heart” and “seemed to touch people emotionally”. They dealt with themes and issues that reflected the times we were all living through. One image in particular Rainbow of Hope – which depicts a rainbow over a row of houses – seemed to especially resonate with people as everyone tried to negotiate the uncertainty and strangeness of that period. In fact, it became Pittaway’s bestselling painting of 2020 and raised money for NHS charities too.

In 2021 as lockdown restrictions were easing – but while her galleries were still closed – Pittaway created a series of paintings under the title Staycation. Again, it was timely and resonant as people were tentatively emerging out into the world, taking short breaks not very far from home.

“The whole series was really about going back to basics and saying that you can find happiness in simple pleasures,” says Pittaway. “This pandemic has probably taught us that we don’t actually need as much as we thought in life, in terms of material things.”

The picture Our Happy Place sums up that sentiment perfectly – it shows a small caravan parked in a landscape of rolling hills, with a couple sitting in deckchairs outside it, their backs to the viewer, watching a beautiful sunset, two glasses of wine on a small table between them. A warm glow emanates from inside the caravan which is adorned with fairy lights – the whole image radiates a sense of wellbeing, contentment and love. It’s not surprising that it became the bestselling piece of art of 2021 and a huge hit for Pittaway. “It’s been our most popular bestseller ever,” she says. “I paint in a warm, friendly, open way – I like to think I am that kind of character and I hope that comes across in my paintings; I’m looking to express finding joy in relationships and nature.”

It is now a decade since Pittaway, who has a degree in graphic design and previously worked as a designer and teacher, made the decision to try and carve out a career as a professional artist, once her children started school full-time.

“I started to create more art, market it and find outlets to sell my work. It was from the solo exhibitions that things started to change quite rapidly, my art seemed to be popular with people.” Then in 2016 she became the official artist for the Tour de Yorkshire and things stepped up a notch. “It was good for business, we embraced that and it has just grown from there.”

The business is now a sizeable concern, employing over 30 people and the Lucy Pittaway brand has branched out into homeware, stationery and greetings cards as well as the original artworks, prints and canvases. Juggling her roles as an artist and businesswoman is not always easy.

“I don’t get to paint every day, but I always make sure I have a minimum of three days a week in my studio,” she says. “The business is a 24/7 thing; it can sometimes be hard to switch off – but we are currently looking at the structure of the business so that I can spend more time at my easel and focus on being creative.”

Once she is in her studio, though, she finds she can switch straight into it. “As soon as the door is closed and I’m on my own, I’m in that zone – I always have lots of ideas, there are far more pictures in my head than I have time to paint, and I just enjoy it, I don’t rush, just make the most of the time I’ve got.”

What motivates her most of all, she says, is the response she receives to her work. “People tell me that my art brings them a lot of joy – and that is what spurs me on as an artist and as a businesswoman,” says Pittaway. “Those positive comments are like gold dust to me; they are what keeps me going. Making that kind of connection with people is very special – it’s what really inspires and enthuses me.”

To view and purchase artworks, homeware, greetings cards and stationery by Lucy Pittaway, visit lucypittaway.co.uk