Val Lawson

I want my expressive colourful images to stir an emotional reaction and trigger half-forgotten memories in the viewer. 

As a self-taught artist, I love to experiment, trying new techniques, materials and tools. I believe that continuous change is an important aspect of life, and often find enjoyable new ways to do things.  

My recent work is abstract, created in a loose spontaneous way. For each painting, I reflect on the inspiration, select colours and paint intuitively, using various media and tools and stand at my easel to keep the mark-making loose.  

I often paint several paintings inspired by the same theme with a similar colour palette. When I start working on a new series of work, I often get lost in the moment and keep painting for several hours before coming up for air. Eventually I stop and review what I’ve created. I may revise but try to retain freedom of expression and spontaneity within my artwork. 

I use mostly acrylic mixed media, and want the colour, line and shape to reflect the inspiration. This could be a beautiful shape or colour seen in the natural world, the mood or personality of a person, the atmosphere of a scene, or the words of a poem. My aim always is to use lively brushstrokes, stunning colours and unusual textures to help me tell the story.