Lisa Hawkins
Lisa was born in Ilford, Essex and moved to Margate in 2002 where she gained a first-class degree and an MA in Fine Art at Canterbury Christ Church University. Her main subject is landscape as a vehicle to explore visually how it feels to “be” in the world. This interest in the interplay between the interior life and the external landscape led her to complete a second master’s degree in Myth Cosmology and the Sacred an experience that fostered a deep and continuing interest in psychology and mythology.
She works from life, memory and imagination – welding the spirit of place with an exploration of the human condition and seeks to have a universal, not just a particular, voice.
Developing a relationship with a place is central to Lisa’s practice, as the memories of each subsequent visit to that place changes her perceptions – the weather, her own moods, current affairs, together with personal and collective associations. This forms a kind of ‘alchemy’ which is played out both in the studio and in the landscape.
Drawing daily is a pivotal practice in her art. She works in oil paint and her often large-scale works are semi-abstract with an emphasis on colour harmony.
This series of paintings of locations in East Kent, are re-worked in the studio and can also be read as a series of self-portraits. Walking and reflecting on a particular landscape becomes a vehicle to explore in colour and texture a particular time and psychological state or mood in my life.
Lisa currently lives in Ramsgate, and her developing understanding and love for the East Kent landscape is a central source of inspiration in her work.