Lesley Ann Derks
Artist’s Statement
From an early age lights at night have always fascinated me. The elements such as rain, sleet, snow and mist gave new life to an established scene. Living in an industrial town reinforced this fascination. The lights of the man made industrial scene created a mystical atmosphere in my fertile imagination.
My earlier work was influenced by this scene. Large halos of colour and twinkling lights suggestive of structure were all incorporated in my work. My work was interpreted by many viewers as something entirely different. Some saw some form of alien worlds, others seascapes and yet others cityscapes such as New York. This has led me on to my current work painting mainly cityscapes.
All my work is based on places I have visited over the years. My aim is to produce work that allows the viewer to experience their own version of the subtleties of movement, light and sound that I experience when producing the work.
More recently, I have begun to explore lights in a different way, focusing on interiors and in particular chandeliers and the different lights they can convey.
My paintings are much more than a depictive representation. They are textured using many layers of different mediums. As the work progresses I omit areas or replace them. I may peel back to an earlier state thereby revealing what went on before.
The painting begins to take on a different direction from the original source material.Biography
D.O.B 21/05/1977
EDUCATION
1995-1999 BA(Hons) Fine Art Drawing and Painting Glasgow School of Art
1998 Facultadt de Belles Artes, University of BarcelonaAwards
AWARDS/SPONSORSHIP
The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust start up loan
Forth Enterprise Action Trust (FEAT) Business Start up Grant
Millers Art Award, Paisley Arts Institute 132nd Annual Exhibition 2020
Visual Arts Open Finalist 2020
COLLECTIONS
Falkirk Council
Paintings in Hospitals
Private collections in USA, Netherlands, France, Australia and UK
COMMISSIONS
Commission of Longannet Power Station (2016) – Scottish Power
Commission of Berlin Nights no. 1 - Time Square 2 - Towards Westminster London - The Louvre (2008-9)
Commission of Faslane – Royal Navy (2008)
Showing all 4 artworks