Lewis Deeney

What inspires you?

The belief in the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.

Describe your creative process.

My process has various overlapping stages of creation. I first begin with the painted surface, expressively applying layers of paint onto board. Simultaneously, I am working on hand drawn geometric compositions, which I later refine on the computer using digital media. This digital composition is then cut out of the painted surface, leaving me with individual cut out shapes which are then reconstructed, at times combined and often further painted, before glueing the shapes down to create the finished image.

What are 3 words that best describe your work?

Abstract Transcendent Abstraction

Who are some artists that have influenced your work?

Im am fascinated by the pioneers of non-objective abstraction in the early 20th century, notably, Kandinsky & Hilma Klint. The search for meaning through total abstraction by the abstract expressionist has deeply inspired my work. Also, the chaotic brilliance of Basquiat. In contemporary times, Ryan Hewett, Phillip Taaffe and Olafur Eliasson continue to excite me. Out-with modern art, I find islamic art beautifully inspiring. I like to find inspiration from different times, locations and context’s, and find prehistoric expression’s of the mandala incredibly powerful, from Buddhism sand mandalas to native American’s medicine wheel’s and Celtic knot-work.

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

To make painting a way of life, to integrate it into who I am and seek to understand myself and the world through the creative process.

Where do you go for inspiration?

Inspiration for me comes from a way of being rather than a physical place, it is a gift we must be ready to receive or it will pass us by. Simply starting to draw or paint, even without an idea, ideas will soon come.