Louisa Jane Simpson

I am a midlands based Artist and I feel very lucky to be inspired by the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. Some of its influences can be seen in my work, particularly paintings that focus on reflections in lakes and water. Having drawn and painted all my life I studied Art and Design at Derby university. At that time I had a real passion for drawing and painting animals and took on many commissions painting people's pets. I never lost my drive to paint and draw but not knowing anyone that had made a full time career as an Artist I decided to follow an academic route and became a lecturer teaching at colleges and universities. I always knew that I was going to come back to Art at some point in my life and in 2012 I decided to take the plunge and I am now a full time Artist selling throughout the world. I have always been drawn to work that has a strong form and a great use of colour and I really admire the work of the Scottish Colourists. It is this rhythm and harmony that initially inspired me to create some of my Still life paintings which combined traditional style with abstract qualities. I realised quite early on that I loved the effect of painting glass in that it enabled all the colours from the design to be picked up in the reflections which create a harmony throughout the painting. This realistic and abstract quality can be seen in my 'Glass Reflections' range and more recently in my 'Reflections in water' range that shows a scene looking down on an aquarium where running water and light from a sky light created movement and undulations on the surface.