Lesley Barker RCA - architecture and landscape fine artist
My recent work has revolved largely around qualities of surfaces and the play of light upon them. Sometimes these surfaces are architectural, sometimes natural. The working processes I employ also emphasize surface, building up layers of collage to give physical texture and using papers which have rough, smooth, absorbent and resistant qualities.
Pattern is also a vital component of my work, perhaps deriving from my background in textiles. I seek out pattern wherever I look, often seeing detail first. Linear structures, repeating shapes, subtle variations on an idea, sequential development - all of these are central themes.
I enjoy using a wide variety of materials, exploiting the different qualities they can give me and allowing them to interact together - sometimes comfortably but occasionally showing contrast and conflict.
The work develops through several stages. I have an extensive and ever growing collection of paper to which I have applied colours, marks, texture - always working freely and experimentally. I also make sheets of mono prints, again very loosely in order to give me a lively line which has the potential to be developed without appearing too formal. Collages are made using these raw materials. Further layers of work, sometimes extensive, are added to this base. Images come from my own photographs, from personal diaries in which I record journeys and from my memory. Places are very important to me: maybe a shoreline, a church, an ancient burial site, a garden - but always a place which has a strong identity. Often the mood surrounding the place will be central to my response to it; this will often be controlled by the season, the time of day, the weather, the light. All of these considerations find their way into my work.
