About Liz Gregory
My work is based on the world around me. I like looking at things and responding to them, even though the results are often very unpredictable.
My work depicts objects that reflect aspects of our lives, enlarging them, empowering them and celebrating them. I want to show how the everyday can be beautiful, interesting or symbolic.
I am drawn to objects that reflect the humdrum of everyday life, such as irons, hoovers and washing machines. Worn out, favourite clothes seem to tell a story, and show the wear and tear of things over time. I am interested in farming implements and machinery which can represent a fast-changing world. Their shapes are varied, intricate and yet totally practical.
Colour is a very important part of my work. I use bold, bright colours, and enjoy playing around with different combinations of colour. I often work quickly and spontaneously for expressive and dynamic results.
I am drawn to abstract and expressionistic work that is vibrant and strong, like the German Expressionists, the Fauves and the Abstract Expressionists. However, I also love the quietness and stillness of the work of Gwen John and Vermeer, and am a life-long devotee of Paul Cezanne, Turner and Bonnard.
My art is rooted in the working landscapes of the Blackdown Hills, where I have lived for most of my life. In Applehayes Revisited I looked at the work of Gauguin and the Camden artists and started to flatten areas of my paintings. For New Eyes I discovered a way of painting using acrylic with lots of water, like water colour, but stronger, and made the largest painting I'd ever made. In Border I first had the idea of using a scroll, producing a drawing that was very long, in Sheds I developed my linocuts, using forgotten items from inside sheds for inspiration and for Skills Unearthed Part I, I started to experiment with new materials and different ways of making marks.
Authenticity is something I strive for in my work, even though it can be elusive. Creating something new, interesting, striking or thought-provoking is an imperative. I seem to produce my best work when I'm least expecting to, and working outside, in front of a subject, is a way of doing this. The work has to have meaning, and it has to originate from something real.
I do passionately believe that there is still room for painting and drawing in today's art world. It is a brilliant and simple way to express ideas and communicate to others.