Artist Lisa Ann Lening presents a charming collection of contemporary 3D mixed media collages. See more of her work by visiting her website.
I am Lisa Ann, a mixed media artist based in New Zealand and for a few months every year, in The Netherlands. The contrast of these two vastly different countries gives me a myriad of visual experiences to draw from and investigate through my arts practice.
My New Zealand studio is surrounded by a forest garden which combines natives and wild flora and fauna. Every season provides new inspiration. Most elements in my collaged works are based on photographs taken over the four seasons. Native birds like Fantail and Tui fly through the garden daily. I feel I am spoilt for choice with this never-ending wildlife barrage.
Art has been front and centre of my life for as long as I remember. The art of creating is something that drives me and keeps me curious, mindful and charged. I formalised my practice at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. Since that time, I have been experimenting and evolving my arts practice.
I have always been drawn to illustration and focusing on details. My 3D collage works are a juxtaposition of my own illustrations, patterned papers that are digitally rendered from my own previous artworks, my own photographs and occasional found objects.
I enjoy being able to use many different combinations of media. I blend them together to create interest and intrigue. By using previous artworks that appear as digital patterns in new works, the past influences the present. This is a narrative I enjoy.
I’m very excited about a new body of work that I have entitled Glossary. Purely by chance, I was researching different, unusual and beautiful words for my own enjoyment and to broaden my language use. I found that using a beautiful word as a starting point for new works has opened a floodgate, so to speak. I am completely bewitched and am enjoying using this as a starting point for this collection.
All words appear in the final piece as an insect-like creature, the letters mirrored and reversed, hidden in plain sight. Words like Peregrinate (to travel or wander from place to place) are calling out to be my beginning point for this body of work!
My 2D artworks, in a reduced colour palette, also incorporate digitally patterned papers from previous works as well as a combination of geometric and organic shapes. These are heavily influenced by the beautiful Art Deco and Vienna Succession eras. The architectural curves and floral motifs coupled with repetition are front and centre of these works. Repeating motifs of honeycomb, honeysuckle and line, combine together on a flat plane to create an almost textile-like image. These 2D assemblages combine images of the nature that surrounds me—a theme that will always be front and centre of my practice.
I am moving forward with hope and enthusiasm, ever appreciative of the fascinating world we inhabit and transferring this gratitude into artworks.
Lisa Ann invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.