.artist.illustrator.photographer.theatre designer.workshop leader.

Born and raised in Buckinghamshire, Lou moved to London to study at the University of Westminster, graduating with a degree in Illustration in 1993.  She moved to Brighton in 1994, where she got a job at the long gone CJ Graphics artshop in Bond Street and started working with colleague and theatre design graduate Abi Macleod on creative projects under the name of Red Hen. 

After 4 years in the art supplies business, she went to work in theatre management, which opened more opportunities for creative work for Red Hen, and where, in 2000 in the ice-cream room at the Theatre Royal, she met performer and photographer Colin Bourner.  It was Colin who, having been offered a Churches Conservation Trust building for the Brighton May Festival 2004 decided to put on a cabaret event and asked Lou to arrange an exhibition in the building.  Lou and Abi gathered together their creative friends and Red Hen Artists Collective was formed!  The cabaret event fell through and the exhibition became the event.  So successful was it that Red Hen exhibited in Churches Conservation Trust buildings for Festivals 2005 and 2006. 

Lou’s artwork is inspired by her love of landscape, nature, travel, mythological tales, folklore and history – themes which reoccur throughout her work. She studied narrative painting & illustration at university and this has strongly influenced her work - each piece tells a story - if you look closely at most of Lou’s work there are significant little details here and there. At the moment she works mostly in acrylic and/or oils combined with metal leaf, powders and glitter. 

Aside from painting and illustration Lou also designs and makes sets, props and costumes for theatre, carnival and display and works in the mediums of mosaic, appliqué, printmaking and photography .  Under the name of Red Hen Lou runs creative workshops in theatre inspired projects such as puppet, mask and head-dress making.  

You can see more of Lou’s artwork at
www.minigallery.co.uk/Lou_Partridge/
or at the Saatchi Gallery online:
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/a/1693.html