After 14 years with British Vogue, Leanda swapped the West End for West Berkshire. In this debut body of paintings, she is looking to evoke the warm spirit of her previous artwork whilst reducing it to an essence of colour and texture.
Whilst the works are abstract, the themes draw on feelings of the coast, summer’s days and dream like storms without wishing to influence the viewer’s own interpretation. The oil paint is mixed with cold wax and applied thickly with a palette knife. Tools such as rope, stones and driftwood are then used to create the marks and some pieces feature additions of tissue paper, sand - even bubble wrap - to give more texture.
“I can’t help but feel that when I’m trying to represent abstract things like love and happiness, it’s important not to give them too much of a shape. I’m very influenced by works of poetry and art from the Romantic period and appreciate their interpretation of the beauty and simplicity of the natural world through the‘One Life’. When I think about trying to do this myself, I find that a sort of everything and nothing philosophy works best”
Leanda McConnell