PAISLEY ANNE LOUCKS

Paisley Loucks was born in Columbus, Georgia in 2001 and currently lives and works near Richmond, Virginia. She is an experimental painter, sculptor, and transdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores transformation, femininity, and the fluid boundaries between reality and imagination. Loucks engages with radical artmaking, painterly traditions, and contemporary sculptural techniques to investigate cycles, nature, and human experience within historical contexts. Growing up in a military family, she moved frequently, shaping her deep appreciation for environment, identity, community, and diversity. She has exhibited in multiple group shows across Richmond, VA, and has led artist talks and workshops emphasizing transdisciplinary creativity and community engagement. Through vibrant color, exaggerated forms, and exploring materiality, she constructs immersive visual narratives that merge observation, installation, and play.

As an artist, I explore the relationships between the tangible and the subconscious by using color, form, and shapes to challenge the viewer’s perception of reality and identity. My practice investigates intensity within nature and femininity, distorting and amplifying the body to evoke both wonder and confusion. Through conceptual exploration and exaggerated forms, I push the boundaries of what is experienced as real by creating visual experiences that disrupt, engage, and challenge. In my work, shape and body become sites of transformation, where distortion serves as a symbol of strength, vulnerability, and the complexities of my own feminine identity. By blending playful yet intense imagery, I invite viewers to confront and reconsider the intersections of selfhood, perception, and power dynamics that exist throughout all levels of life.

EDUCATION:

2025 B.F.A. in art with a concentration in art education, minors in painting + printmaking, art history, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (MAY 2025 GRADUATION)

2023 A.A.A. in visual arts, Brightpoint Community College, Midlothian, VA

WORK EXPERIENCE:

Freelance Artist — 2016 - present, Innovation, organization, project management, spherical set of technical skills, + attention to detail

Substitute Teacher — May 2024 - present, classroom management, official documentation, + lesson plan implementation

Sales Associate, JOANN Fabric + Craft Stores — October 2019 - June 2024, Customer Service, cashiering, fabric cutting, stocking, + personalized arts + crafts advice

AWARDS + RESIDENCY:

2023 Best in Show: Lamp of My Dreams, Karen Shipstedt Drawing Award: Olivia, but Horizontal, Juried Student Art Show (Juror: Anh Do, Faculty at Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA + Studio Instructor for the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, VA)

2018 Summer Residential Governor's School for Visual & Performing Arts and Humanities, Radford University, Radford, VA (June 24-July 21)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2025 Imagining Possibilities: With Future Art Educators, The Anderson, Richmond, VA

2024 Put It on A Pallet, Lobby of Murry N. Depillars Building, Richmond, VA

2024 Vibrations, Black Iris Social Club, Richmond, VA

2024 We’re Dead, You Suck!, Joseph H. Seipel Gallery, Richmond, VA

2024 An Abundance of Trash, Rag and Bones, Richmond, VA

2024 Is It Over Yet?, Joseph H. Seipel Gallery, Richmond, VA

2023 Juried Student Art Show, Gallery at Brightpoint, Midlothian, VA

2018 We Live In A Society, The Radford University Art Museum, Radford, VA

ARTISTIC + TECHNICAL SKILLS:

- Naturalistic Drawing + Painting from Life: proficient in graphite, charcoal, oil + acrylic

- Innovative Paint Handling: skilled in oil, acrylic, watercolor, + gouache paint, knowledgeable in chemistries + histories.

- Ceramics: expertise in wheel throwing + hand building, knowledgeable in kilns, firings, glazes, + applicable chemistry.

- Sewing: over 15 years of machine + hand sewing, garment construction, costume design, quilt making, + more.

- Multimedia Construction + Assemblage: in 2-D + 3-D forms, including collage, sculpture, mobiles, + more.

- Printmaking Techniques: skilled in monoprinting, linocut, etching, screen printing, lithography, + more.

- Metalworking + Silversmithing: experienced in torch soldering, power tool operation, stone setting, metal finishing, + more.

- Woodshop: safe + precise operation of woodshop / power tools across various projects + locations.

- Oxy-Acetylene Welding: safe + precise operation of welding gasses + materials.

- Photography: experienced in digital, darkroom, + pinhole photography.

- Glass Fabrication + Blowing: experience in + knowledgeable about processes.

PROFESSIONAL + TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE:

Current Elementary + Secondary Student Teaching, Colonial Heights, VA

2025 Group Artist Talk, Imagining Possibilities: With Future Art Educators, The Anderson, Richmond, VA

2024 Independent Study (PAPR 492), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, overseen by Monsieur Zohore (Assistant Professor of Painting + Printmaking)

2024 Elementary + Secondary Practicum (ARTE 401/402), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

2024        Glass Fabrication (CRAF 491), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

2022                 Served as a demonstrating artist + conducted a landscape painting workshop for 29 guests to benefit Colonial Heights High School AfterProm Committee.

2018                  Metalsmithing, Dark Room + Pinhole Photography, Radford University, Radford, VA

PRESS + BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“2023 Juried Art Show Winners Announced.” Brightpoint Community College, April 2023. https://www.brightpoint.edu/news/2023-juried-student-art-show-winners-announced.

Adam, John. “Arts Flourishing at Colonial Heights.” The Progress-Index, February 23, 2017. https://www.progress-index.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/02/23/arts-flourishing-at-colonial-heights/22097580007/.

“National Art Honor Society Inducts New Members.” The Progress Index, May 20, 2019. https://www.progress-index.com/story/business/2019/05/21/national-art-honor-society-inducts/5105701007/.

Reichenberg, Kelsey. “Loucks Accepted into Residential Art Program.” The Progress-Index, May 22, 2018. https://www.progress-index.com/story/entertainment/arts/2018/05/22/loucks-accepted-into-residential-art/12169273007/

Virginia Art Education Association News Magazine Fall, 2016. http://www.vaea.org/uploads/3/2/1/2/32127137/2016_fall.pdf.

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