Lesley Herd is a mixed media and collage abstract artist based in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, with a deep connection with nature and water which inspires many of her paintings.
Lesley is fascinated by colours and textures created by the passage of time: peeling paint on worn wood, sea and sand marks, rust marks and layered graffiti. These inspire mark-making and textures in her abstract or semi-abstract work.
She paints intuitively, using loose brushstrokes and mixed media techniques. Collage is often incorporated into her work, and she often uses gel-printing techniques to create papers specifically for a particular artwork. Her palette is reflective of her love of water and green spaces.
Lesley also creates stand-alone abstract collages using a variety of found or recycled papers and paper ephemera collected on her travels, enjoying the push and pull of intuitive abstract collage, searching to construct a visually cohesive and pleasing composition.
Wild swimming throughout the year, come rain or shine, is a constant source of inspiration and provides much needed respite from the stresses of life.
Lesley aims to evoke in the viewer the mood, atmosphere and energy of wild spaces, and the sense of peaceful joy she experiences when in nature.
