Lanyon, Deborah
''The preliminary stage in my process of composition is generally detailed field-work and observation of particular, real landscapes. In recent years, I have travelled to places as diverse as the Pyrenees, Greece and Cuba in search of the kind of wild and open sites which particularly inspire me. In mountains, I find the deep angles and drops which are an especially characteristic feature of my work.''
''Generally I begin with long walks in the area to be painted, followed by rapid water-colour notations of the subject. I will often fill a couple of note-books with such sketches which I then work up later into a second, transitional stage of composition where I am staying. However, I now never paint the completed work in situ. I find the process of removing myself from the source of inspiration an important preliminary period of the work’s gestation and abstraction. On returning to my studio in Wandsworth, I expand on the field sketches, working up what is in effect a series of visual notes into the final object.''
''I often use collage or other mixed media. I favour acrylic, a quick-drying medium, to make the collage adhere to the surface of the canvas. I tend to work rapidly and very physically, with the canvases positioned on the floor, checking them periodically by raising them onto a wall or easel. Given the large scale on which I work (I regularly produce paintings which are six or even eight feet by four), I find that working on the floor is the best means to ensure a dynamic application of the paint. At this preliminary stage, the process of composition is more visceral and intuitive; when the canvas is raised, I work more intellectually, to check and shape the direction that the painting has been taking. These are quite separate ‘moments’, which I compare to chess; on the floor I ‘attack’ the object from an emotional stance; when the painting is vertical, I enter a mode of ‘defence’, editing what has gone before.''
''Currently, my work is in a process of transition as I find myself experimenting with new compositional values. I am seeking to eliminate some of the structural features, which have characterised my previous work. My aim is to create new sources of tension, together with a greater sense of fluidity, specifically in the spatial quality of my work. I am aiming for a more existential relation to landscape, defined more by my inner being, and am moving further away from literal correspondences to external landscapes. I am also experimenting with a different range of colours than in the past, while attempting to synthesise these into a more mobile and concentrated ensemble.''