Deborah Lanyon

I entitled this recent body of work “A View of the Landscape” because when we look at the landscape we all respond visually, emotionally or physically and at times a combination of all three. It is these responses that I am interested in exploring.

My visual interpretation is not about illustration or picturing what I see. Instead it is my intention to keep the eye guessing and to provide a language of mark-making that helps best describe what I am looking at. As a result this way of working can often become more abstract.

My emotional response to the landscape can be guided by weather conditions, colour, light or perhaps the time of day. My response to the landscape is quite often instinctive – if I feel that the land is soaring and the rhythms deep I might paint in a faster, seemingly more agitated state.

The application of the paint, whether it is thickly applied, washed, veiled or dripped, is an intentional act to augment a more visceral response. My physical response can be determined by a space I am looking at or one I am physically in. I try to organise this space by using shapes and colour on the canvas. I hope that the spectator can therefore sense the physical and emotional experience which I had face-to-face with the landscape and share its journey into painting.

Deborah Lanyon