HELLO!
I’m Lisa and I'm an artist...
and I have been
all my life!
Art making for me is a perfect way to switch off from the world and lose myself in something that makes me feel good. To draw, to paint, to collage…or to simply scribble brings me so much joy.
I’m a mixed media artist who loves to create vibrant, contemporary and intuitive abstract paintings.
I’ve been creative all my life but when the pandemic hit in 2020, and we were all isolated, I finally had the time to slow down, and explore more, my love for painting. It’s been such an uncertain time but pulling out my paints and losing myself in the process I felt happy and was able to switch off from everything. I soon learnt that applying the paint freely and loosely enabled me to let go of the perfectionist in me too. I don’t need everything to be neat and perfect! I play and get my hands covered in paint!
I don’t plan out the look of my paintings - I just get started! I might have an idea I’ve been exploring or a feeling I’d like to paint or sometimes I’m just drawn to certain colours and start from there. I begin by loosely and energetically applying the paint and working intuitively, responding to the marks I make. I do this for a while. I push through the ‘messy middle’ (a time that most artists face when creating a piece. Everything looks a bit wonky, and doubt starts to kick in!) but I trust that most of the time I’ll get through it and slowly the painting starts giving me clues as to what it wants to be! Certain areas start to grab my attention - dry brush marks, the marks from a pencil, colours that I wouldn’t necessarily put together. I then work to refine the piece looking at the values and the composition until I’m happy and feel the piece is finished.
I work mainly in acrylics and mixed media, always working in layers to build up and add lots of interest and texture. I don’t limit myself to just using paintbrushes whilst I create - old credit cards, sticks and trowels make great marks, often taking my control out of the situation and adding a little bit of surprise!
I’m currently drawn to mark making, abstract shapes, gelli printing collage papers, opaque and transparent layers, curves, line work and loose brush marks.
Expressing myself through art is perfect for me.
I’m a fairly quiet soul but give me some paints and a blank canvas
and the expressive, bold and fun marks
just come out of me and I absolutely LOVE it! It’s so freeing.
WATCH TO SEE MY STUDIO!
When I’m not busy raising
our two children alongside
my husband, I’m tucked away
in my garden studio
with a colourful array of paint,
sketchbooks, a jumble of
paintbrushes and mark making
tools, playing with colour,
creating art (and almost always
making a mess along the way too!)
To build up my understanding and strengthen my knowledge of art making...
I jumped into the Creative Visionary Program with Nicholas Wilton, founder of Art2Life, completing the program in 2021. This was a fantastic course for me, helping me to understand lots of art making principles including value, design, colour, texture, risk, soul and the course really helped to build my confidence and get into the right mindset of an artist.
Scroll through for some of the work I did
and click on any of the images to enlarge and find out more.
EXHIBITIONS & WORKSHOPS
2022
'The Mercer Open' - Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
17th Sept 2022 - 8th Jan 2023
Mark Making & Collage Workshop - Cobbles & Clay, Haworth
7th Dec
Denman's Restaurant, Shelf, West Yorkshire
'The Landscape We Feel' - Inspired by... gallery, Danby, North Yorkshire
9th April - 22nd May
Saltaire Arts Trail, Saltaire, West Yorkshire
30th April - 2nd May
'Walk In Style' - Window Display, Saltaire, West Yorkshire
28th April - 3rd May
2023
Inspired by...gallery, Danby Sat 11th Feb - Sun 21st May.
An exhibition showcasing over 140 artists who are taking part in North Yorkshire Open Studios 2023
Acrylic Workshop - Cobbles & Clay, Haworth
27th April
BENEATH THE SURFACE
The first Global ARTelier 21 group show at The YAH factory, Milan
13th May - 27th May More Details
North Yorkshire Open Studios SUMMER
3/4th and 10th/11th June & 2nd/3rd Dec More Details
VIRTUAL ART SUMMIT 2023 - Return to Play
Guest artist - More Details
North Yorkshire Open Studios WINTER
2nd/3rd Dec
2024
Saltaire Art Gallery - 19th Jan - 28th April
NYOS artists exhibition - Inspired by...gallery, Danby, North Yorkshire - 10th Feb - 12th May
North Yorkshire Open Studios SUMMER
1/2nd and 8/9th June More Details
Coffee & Crumbs, Kildwick, Parish Rooms - Solo Exhibition for Gala Day - 15/16th June
Gargrave Art Exhibition - 4th - 7th July
North Yorkshire Open Studios WINTER
2nd - 3rd Nov More Details
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