Liz Chaderton
I live and work in a small village in Berkshire. I work mainly in watercolour, but experiment with printing techniques, particularly lino cutting. I am largely self-taught and have been exhibiting my work through exhibitions and galleries since 2009. A selection of my paintings has been published recently by Artko and Wraptious.
Inspiration comes from the animals and plants I encounter around me in the fields and hedgerows, growing on the allotment, or living on my (regretfully imaginary) small holding. I am for my paintings to raise a smile and make you see again the animals and flora we so often overlook. By doing so I hope to nurture a more caring attitude to the wider environment.
The starting point for each picture is something that catches my attention and engages my emotions – a cows’ nose, a pig’s ear, maybe the cats’ whiskers… From there I try to capture the essence of the subject, rather than the detail, believing that what is left out is just as important as what is put in. My paintings leave space for your imagination to wander, so are not usually set in a particular time and place.
For me colour and pattern, not details are my passions. I enjoy how colours work together, mix and interact, along with the texture and pattern in everyday objects and unexpected places. I love watercolour for its immediacy, vibrancy and the unpredicted routes it can take you down as the paint mixes on the paper.
“I aim to capture the spirit of the subject but also create a painting that contains a part of me as well’.
I have traveled widely and when not painting I write for a number of magazines and organisations, tutor art groups, tend chickens and attempt to keep the weeds at bay on my vegetable patch.
