Lydia Wood

Lydia Wood (American, b. 1986) is a St. Louis based painter who explores chaos and hope through figurative watercolor. Wood weaves narratives of resilience amidst sobering realities, thus inviting the observer to step into the subjects’ lived experience. Stemming from her own secondary trauma from the past decade working with victims of violence and health disparities as a pediatric ER Nurse, Wood challenges common narratives on trauma, motherhood, and lost childhood in her current work. 

Wood explores the tension between fluidity and precision through her approach to watercolor. Utilizing a clay aquabord surface, Wood layers watercolor washes, at times tipping the board and relinquishing control of the paint to gravity. Wood then etches into the clay surface exacting precision over highlights and likeness similar to how we strive to control and make sense of fluid and complex problems.

Wood’s work has been featured in publications with PoetsArtists, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Voyage STL and Ladue News. Wood has exhibited through Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, 33 Contemporary Gallery/PoetsArtists, Art Saint Louis, Webster Arts, The St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Intersect Arts Center, Jacoby Arts Center, Erica Popp Studios and Gallery,  and Soulard Art Gallery. Wood has been mentored by Ali Cavenaugh, B. J. Parker, and Erica Popp and has studied at Gateway Academy of Classical Art, the St. Louis Artist’s Guild, and has taken other select coursework in fine art. 

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.