North Yorkshire artist and successful businesswoman Lucy Pittaway has been recognised for combining her business acumen with a social conscience.

In 2012 Lucy Pittaway became a professional artist working out of her spare room. Now she oversees a business that employs 58 people in seven galleries, a studio and a framing and distribution centre across North Yorkshire and the Lake District.

She has been named winner of the Outstanding Business Growth category in the University of York Enterprise Awards which aim to inspire and encourage excellence across industries while fostering positive societal impact.

Lucy said: “The team and I are delighted to have won this award as it reflects the incredible hard work that our whole workforce have put into creating the business we are so proud of today.

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"I hope it helps to highlight the importance of art to the economy of an area as well as the positive mental health benefits the creative arts can bring.”

Neil Pittaway added: “In such a challenging economic climate, winning an award such as this means so much. It really does help motivate us to focus on achieving our planned trajectory of growth in line with our business plan."

Lucy has been the UK Fine Art Trade Guild’s Most Popular Published Artist since 2018 and has galleries in York and Harrogate and other Yorkshire towns.

The response to one of her more recent paintings, a tribute to the felled Sycamore Gap tree, has been phenomenal. Over 3100 prints have been sold with Lucy making a donation from each sale to help fund the creation of a new publicly accessible woodland on the Swinton Estate near Masham, North Yorkshire.

Lucy has also developed a range of free educational resources for schools to use from Key Stages 1-3 to enhance their art provision and encourage creativity in young people. In addition, Lucy and her team have committed to raising more than £10k this year for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

She added: “I live in North Yorkshire, as do many of my team, and the countryside, along with the Lakes, have been a constant inspiration so it’s nice to be able to give something back."