SONYA LUCAS ART 

I am a queer expressionist painter born from the coal-streaked heart of southern West Virginia. Now, Columbus, Ohio is my home, where my wife and I find ourselves in the artistic realms of the Short North and Franklinton Arts districts.

Henri Matisse once proclaimed, “I’ve been forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black.” My approach mirrors that revelation: a dance with the immediacy of ‘alla prima,’ though rarely with oils. I layer wet paint upon wet, mixing mediums as diverse as spray paint, ground coal dust, and dried flowers. This is my alchemy, my personal exploration of narrative and memory. My work is a dialogue with nostalgia and trauma, a cathartic journey through reflection and healing.

Formative Years:

Before my roots deepened in West Virginia, I traversed a mosaic of states—Alabama, Wyoming, Mechanicsville, Virginia. I carry the scents of car interiors, the soundtrack of the Judds, and the taste of cold coffee from my father’s thermos, all from those midnight relocations. My grandmother raised me amidst the rugged beauty of HooHoo Holler, a real and wondrous place you can still discover. My path to art was illuminated by the generosity of Stanley Hostler and his wife, Virginia, who, through a serendipitous connection with my high school science teacher, opened the doors to West Virginia University for me. At seventeen, I found a new family with my science teacher, who took me in as one of their own.

From those beginnings, I earned a master’s degree in Art & Technology from The Ohio State University and taught there for a time. Now, I navigate the world of multimedia and videography in the corporate world, but my true passion remains painting.

May these images bring you as much joy as I find in creating them.