Liz Foster North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

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Working across oils, water-based and mixed-media my work fluctuates between pure abstraction and a subtle refence to place or object. Paintings begin with intuitive marks and colour, and are developed over several months, if not years, with several paintings being worked on at a time. The final composition only comes to realisation in the later stages of the process.

My work is process-led, with a focus on colour and gestural mark-making. Although it is abstract in nature there are often references submerged withing the work, or part recognisable forms that the viewer can, maybe, identify with.

I like to take risks in my work, using high-colour, strong marks and awkward form - i'm not looking for perfection. Often a canvas is built up over months, editing and removing previous marks until a composition emerges on the canvas. Whilst, when I work on paper, I tend to be much more direct, with a composition appearing after only a few sittings.

One key aspect of my practice is that I always work across multiple paintings at once - on groups of 6 or 7 canvases. This prevents me from overworking an image, and allows me to take elements from one image and try them on another. My work does vary, and each image takes on it's own identity while I work. the process of painting for me is very instinctive and when I find myself overthinking the next step, I stop. The flow of painting is when one brush mark leads to the next and then to the next. I never know what the final painting will look like when I begin - I'm being led all the time by the process and my instinctive use of paint.