Inner Seasons
The Mythic Art of Virginia Lee

Virginia Lee is an young English artist whose work is rich with symbolism drawn from myth, folklore and fairy tales, exploring the ways these symbols can be used to express themes of transformation. Her paintings and drawings of animal–women, tree–women, and dream–haunted young girls depict the deep connections between women's lives and nature's cycles. Such visions come from the wilderness — the primeval forest in mythic quests; the endangered forests of our modern world; and the dark forests of the psyche, representing an inward journey through deep realms of the soul.

Virginia was born in Devon, England in 1976 and raised in a small village on the edge of Dartmoor. As the daughter of the acclaimed English book artist Alan Lee (illustrator of J.R.R. Tolkien's works) and the Dutch artist Marja Lee Kruÿt, she was surrounded by the images of myths and fairy tales throughout her childhood. At the age of 16, Virginia began a two–year course in Art and Design at Exeter College. She then took two years off to travel through Europe with friends, and to build up her portfolio. "By this time," she says, "I had developed an interest in sculpting models of a surreal nature, as well as continuing on with drawing, which has been an integral part of my life." In 1996, she was accepted into the Illustration course at Kingston University, where she experimented with model–making and animation, in addition to two–dimensional illustration. Her Degree Show consisted of both two– and three–dimensional work. She explains that the work in this show was inspired by themes of animal transformation in folk and fairy tales. "I modeled some of the well known characters, imagining what problems they may have encountered in their various forms. The connection between nature and feminine cycles fascinates me, and for my major project I designed a series of pastel paintings called Inner Seasons. These depict a young girl's realization of her physical changes as she enters puberty, as she sees herself reflected in the seasonal landscape around her."

Virginia completed her degree in the spring of 1999, and presented an exhibition of her work at the Chagford Arts Festival in Devon in July 1999. She spent six months in London developing book illustration projects, and then traveled to New Zealand to work as a sculptor on Peter Jackson's three Lord of the Rings films. She now lives in Brighton, England.

"Since returning from my stint of film work in New Zealand," says Virginia, "I have been producing pieces of art for local exhibitions. I participated in the Mythic Journeys in 2004. Shortly after that I started illustrating my first children's book, a Russian fairy tale retold by Antonia Barber entitled The Frog Bride. It will be published by Frances Lincoln and released in 2007. I am currently illustrating my second book for Frances Lincoln, entitled Persephone, a Journey from Winter to Spring. In between book projects, I have been creating sculptures, some of which I hope to produce as garden pieces, and possibly display in the 'Mythic Gardens' exhibition in Devon in 2007."

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