”. “At first I resisted that title because I wanted it to be about my girl,” Lyons says of the painting, which shows a young couple in a passionate embrace. “But then I realised that it really is about her … she sees the sexy boy at a party and spends the evening trying to get his attention.” The scenes of kissing are less about intimacy than the hormonal thrill of exploring libidinous impulses; the ache of wanting to accrue experience.
Lyons is not precious and embraces experimentation, wiping down the canvas as necessary if she doesn’t like her direction, letting both mistakes and happy accidents play out. While the distraction-free circumstances of the pandemic have made her especially prolific the past year – “I got into a flow and I am still riding it now” – she is also rigorous about maintaining a studio schedule of eight hour days, six days a week. Routine is her standby across the board, in fact.
Singer Sargent is a little more than a stretch. A Hail Mary pass in a blind football game more like.