Val Lindsell
Valerie’s describes her style as ‘instinctively leaning towards scenes that are linear’ and here, vibrant acrylic shades bleed and stretch into the horizon to meld with the crashing foam of the sea.
Artist's statement
The starting point for much of my work is the shape and colour of the landscape around me – wherever I may be. I must feel a sense of place and be emotionally engaged with the setting. Andaman Sea was painted a little from memory, but mainly from photographs. I always take loads of pictures when I am away and then back home in my studio I play around with colour, image and shape.
This particular painting reminds me so much of going out on a dive boat just off the island of Koh Lanta and hitting a massive storm – on its way to Vietnam. We were unable to dive, so sat and watched amazing rain falling, the water making vertical and horizontal slashes against the horizon . The colours were so vibrant and then, just as suddenly as the storm began, it was over.
I did not want to replicate that storm in a picture, but rather to convey a sense of the drama and colour that I had felt and seen. I have been fortunate to visit Thailand often.
The main reason for initially going there was to visit family living out there, but I soon fell in love with the land, the people and, of course the food, and although our family are now back in the UK, I still continue to visit.
I rarely paint or sketch outdoors, much preferring to take photographs and having multiple images to play around with. I especially value being able to take photographs of the same scene over and over again, to capture different elements. In a nutshell, I just like to make marks and use card, pens, brushes and airbrush as well. I mainly use acrylic paint as it is fast drying and suits the way I choose to work.
