In January 2017 Lisa-Marie Price decided she had to make a change to help our planet so she went vegan. Her passion for this change has opened her eyes to a planet she didn’t know before; hidden away, a secret to be unearthed. Price wasn’t prepared for how it would impact her thoughts, feelings and interpretations of the world. It has transformed not only what she eats but every action she takes. Crucially, it has redefined her art.
Prices’ abstract paintings are an interpretation of the relationship between people and place. A growing consciousness of the world has driven her to explore the use of art as a tool to advocate change. The end goal is a healthier, more empathetic planet. Price maps routes, collects pigments from her travels and creates watercolour from the earth. Paint foraged from the ground results in a deep forged connection between Prices’ art and the natural world. Price wants people to feel akin to her work, be it through colour, pattern, place or the meaning behind each piece.
Self Taught or Art School?
I studied Fine Art at university in London, mainly creating installation work, and as much as I loved art school I think most of my learning has come after. It has been 12 years since I left and in that time I have worked many art-related jobs. I think I have been ‘self-taught’ in many ways as an art school, unfortunately, doesn’t really prepare you to be an artist in the ‘real world’ unless you were lucky enough to been picked up by a gallery at your final exhibition.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
It would definitely be a Bridget Riley piece. I have always loved her work since I was a child. The way she uses colour and pattern totally mesmerises and inspires me. I recently saw her exhibition at the Hayward Gallery and although I love her large black and white optical paintings, I think for me her study drawings were the most interesting. I was in awe of how she meticulously plans her paintings, her methodical way of working and the marks and workings out that you can see her study drawings were incredible.
How would you describe your style?
I would say my style is a combination of abstract, minimalist and maximalist (I know these don’t tend to go together; the shape of the marks I make are minimalist but I paint so many of them I feel like it’s also maximalist too), along with a sustainability aspect behind all my pieces.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
On a day to day basis, my creative process is pretty methodical. I like to be organised and tidy and I tend to work between painting, researching and like everyone else…admin. Because of the style of my work I can’t paint for hours and hours at a time, it’s too painful, so I work in shorter bursts interspersed with paint making and going out for walks to forage for new pigment.
To make my watercolour it’s quite a lengthy process. It requires patience, accuracy for the most part and a little bit of playfulness too. In short, these are the steps I take to make my own natural watercolours. I walk, forage, collect, crush, grind, sieve, levigate, mull, mix, store, dry, test, record and label each pigment. This process can take weeks or even months, all before I can even sit down to make a new piece of work.
That’s generally why I try to go between making my paint, painting new work and foraging for pigment; it allows me to have new paint to hand when I need it.
When I do sit down to paint I start with a walk that I have recorded on my phone using an app, I draw out the walk and decide on what parts of it I want to use. If I can, I use the pigment I found on that particular walk but sometimes this isn’t possible. I am completely obsessed with painting tiny dots. I can’t explain this really, I guess I am a bit of a perfectionist so maybe this has something to do with it, but I can’t be sure!
Is narrative important within your work?
Narrative is extremely important in my work. Although at first glance you may think there isn’t a great deal of meaning behind my paintings, they always have a story. I am a big reader and constantly wanting to learn about anything earth, science, societal or climate/eco-based. Many of my paintings have come from being inspired by a book I have read or a snippet of information I have picked up.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
I have quite a few favourite artists, some are older artists, who in my opinion were pushing boundaries for their time and others are newer artists whose work focuses on nature, sustainability and connecting to the earth. I will give you a quick low down of them:
Bridget Riley – For all the reasons I mentioned above and more!
Yayoi Kusama – I admire her dedication to how she became an artist, her use of colour and pattern and the scale and application of the paint
Eva Hesse – Hesse was a big influence during my time in art school, the way she used materials in an unconventional way but also how she created her eccentric yet minimalist sculptures through repetitive and labour-intensive processes
Frida Kahlo – Mainly I admire Kahlo’s grit and determination when she experienced such adversities during her life. She gives me the inspiration to keep pushing on when things feel impossible in the art world!
Rebecca Salter – I love her attention to detail and the minimalist aspects of her textural paintings
Lydia Halcrow – I recently discovered Halcrow and loved how her practice explores collaborating with place through the movement of her body
Mio Yamato – Discovered in JD Malat Gallery, I instantly felt a connection with her repetitive process and the accuracy of her work.
Julie Leach – Leach uses nature to dictate her printmaking and pantings, mainly harnessing the wind, documenting the invisible forces of nature.
Jane Ponsford – A very talented papermaker and artist who uses sustainable paper to create beautiful sculptures, which I hope to soon be making my own paper too!
Lina Iris Viktor – I was blown away by Viktor’s exhibition in Autograph Gallery last year, her work is full of strength, passion and tells a powerful story questioning the nature of time and being.
There is quite a few earth pigment based professionals/researchers/artists who I admire for their dedication to the collection of their earth pigments, mapping the world through colour, such a Heidi Gustafson, Tilke Elkins, Lucy Mayes, Julie Gibney-Vamvakari, Catalina Christensen and Ruth Siddall.
I also realise these are all women, which I think in a very male-dominated industry, is even more important to recognise strong, influential, successful, inspiring and talented women artists.
What or who inspires your art?
There are a few main points of inspiration for me. The first is that in 2017 I went vegan. It was only supposed to be a month thing with Veganuary, but as I said before, I love reading and learning and the more I read the more I realised I never wanted to go back to not being vegan. I really had no idea at the time how much it would not only impact my life but also how much it would redefine my art. Going vegan got me thinking about my personal impact and how I can minimise my negative actions on our planet. Learning about our overconsumption was why I started to make my own watercolour and stopped buying shop-bought paint. It got me thinking about our journeys and movement during our lives. It completely focused my practice. It gave it purpose and now the story behind my work is not only meaningful but it’s growing and evolving each time I make a new piece of work. I believe this constant growth is because my inspiration is true, all-encompassing and part of my lifestyle as a whole
I am very much inspired by my experiences in the world, reading about our complex ecosystem and the desire to help change the world for the better for generations to come. The natural world plays a huge part in inspiring me to create work made from the earth but also that tells a story about the earth too.
Inspiration also comes in the form of the walks I take and the pigment I find on my walks. These walks often translate into the shapes you see in my work and the pigment I collect is made into watercolour so I can paint with them.i8iū
The colours I use in my work are completely dictated by where I am in the world. I spent a fair amount of time in Scotland and the earth there is so vastly different from the pigment I find here in London. It allows me to connect to the land that I walk on and share those journeys and experiences through my paintings.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
I have a gorgeous little studio in North London. I opened it in 2017 to partly teach and partly use as my studio for my art practice. It has been my saviour during the lockdown as it is only a 5-minute walk from my house and I am the only one who uses it so I have been able to carry on working on my art practice full time from the studio. I know many artists haven’t had this luxury so I feel very lucky. As it used to be a shop I have a huge north-facing window which is perfect light…if not a little on show’ at times! It sits in a cute little cul-de-sac with other small local run businesses, a wonderful coffee shop, a knitwear designer and eco-friendly dry cleaners as well as a lovely local library. We have quite a tight-knit community here and I love it!
What are you working on currently?
As I have the studio completely to myself right now, which is normally rare because I would also be teaching, I am working on large scale paintings. Normally my work is very small and detailed, scaling up my work to sizes of around 2m x 2m was a big leap for me and I am really enjoying seeing how the work adapts on a larger scale. I am able to be more free in my application of the paint and feel the movement of it in a completely different way.
Where can we buy your art?
The best way to keep up to date and buy my art is either through following me on Instagram @theworkshopn4, I love an Instagram post! Or by signing up for my newsletter through my website www.lisamarieprice.co.uk to stay up to date with studio sales and new works available.
Thanks for reading and if you’d like to ask any questions about my practice or processes you can always drop me an email at lisapriceart@me.com
