Arts Preview: Lulu Ngie's minimalist paintings on show in Aberdeen

Chances are you have seen the works of Lulu Ngie without giving them too much thought.

Trained as a designer, Ngie has worked in a variety of creative capacities for more than a decade - although she's probably best recognised for her book cover illustrations, such as those for noted female author, Yi Shu.

And if you've ever wondered about the people behind the paintings of the beautiful women on the covers of tacky romance novels,"That would be me," she says with a giggle.

Although Ngie made a decent living out of those jobs, in 2004 she decided to create her own paintings - if only to "maintain my psychological balance".

"When I do illustrations for books, it's merely to serve the clients and to help convey their ideas. If I happen to like the ideas, then I'm happy," says Ngie. "But when they are ideas that I don't agree with, I still have to finish the job. And it used to make me wonder: what am I doing here?"