Interview

Feb 14

Anita Lester

Self-taught artist, Anita Lester lives in South East England where she spends her time painting and home- educating her children. She spent her childhood and most of her teenage years on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Her years there have massively influenced her work and style of painting. She works mostly in oils and acrylics but does the occasional work in watercolour and pencil.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I have always been a creative person. I remember drawing and painting from a very young age. I am very passionate about art and expressing myself in a creative way. Apart from a few months of art classes after leaving school I have not had any formal art training. I’ve experimented a lot and learned along the way. Art has always been my hobby while I worked in the field of Psychology as a Therapist. After trying to juggle work and homeschooling my 2 children, I finally decided to pause my work as a therapist and focus on homeschooling. I suddenly found that with that change, I had some time to resume my art again. Now I stay up late after planning lessons, to paint and do something for myself creatively. I grew up in the Caribbean – on the twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago. Everything about that part of the world is bright and colourful. Houses are painted in bright colours. The intense sun shines on fruit on the trees and reflects off the skin of the people making everything glow and feel and look so vibrant. I suppose this has influenced the way that I paint. My parents always made art and craft materials available to us but it was only after having a few months of art classes that I grew in my confidence. My art teacher encouraged me to work towards exhibiting my work. I had never even considered that before. I eventually planned and held 2 exhibitions in Trinidad before getting married and moving to the UK.”

What inspires you?

“Nature inspires me. I am especially drawn to the vibrant colours of nature. I like to try and look beyond the obvious. For instance, someone may look at a leaf and say that its green. But there is so much more. So, to paint a leaf, I would get at least 3 shades of green on my pallet as well as perhaps some yellow and even blue. I can really see these colours when I look at a leaf. And when carefully and delicately blended together, it becomes so much more than just one green colour. It is this delicate balance of colours working together that I love! It excites me every time I do a painting. I can say that I enjoy painting a lot more than doing pencil drawings because of this excitement that I feel when working with colour.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“I love to capture nature! I think everything is so fast paced in this world. If we could all just take a few moments every day to stop and look at nature I really believe it would do so much good for us emotionally. Traveling is great for those who can afford to do it. But really the things that I paint are things that I haven’t had to travel very far to observe. I remember when I was working on my bee collection, I spent days just filming bees or just standing next to a plant that they loved; just watching them. The way they approached flowers, the way they flew next to each other and their interaction with each other. It was mesmerising! I remember thinking, wow, these bees do this every day and its not until now that I am stopping to observe them! I hope that my paintings will encourage people to stop and look – just to observe and get lost in that special moment where it’s just them and nature!”

How would you describe your work?

“In a word - colourful! I hope that my work feels cheerful and inspiring. I love capturing vivid colours and hope that the effect is striking to anyone who engages with it.”

Which artists influence you most?

“There are so many incredible artists out there it's so hard to narrow it down to one. But recently, the global art project, ‘The Good of the Hive’ has really been a source of inspiration for me. Matt Willey’s murals are incredible, vibrant and a mammoth task to undertake painting 50,000 bees on walls and buildings all over the world! What an amazing way to get people to stop and think, to stop and notice a creature in nature that is in desperate need of our help. I love when art is used in such a powerful way!”

“I love to capture nature! I think everything is so fast paced in this world. If we could all just take a few moments every day to stop and look at nature I really believe it would do so much good for us emotionally.”

What is your creative process like?

“There are days where I feel like I want to paint everything! The light at a certain time of day may reflect off of a flower in a certain way and I get a strong urge to capture it – capture that moment. I may be driving and see the way the wind moves trees and I feel inspired. Once I settle on what to paint it usually starts with a sketch. I tend to go into a lot of detail with the initial sketch. Adding colour then comes next. I enjoy this stage the most. I then take pictures of my work and examine it from lots of different angles. I am able to identify areas that need more work and then I go back and make adjustments until I feel satisfied. There are times when I need to leave a piece for a few days and come back to it. I have found this to be invaluable to the process sometimes.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“As artists we can use our work to influence and inspire others. Artists can offer fresh and new perspectives on social issues. We can tell narratives through our art in a way that words may not. I think that is really powerful. I think in our very fast paced world, art tends to cause people to slow down – to contemplate and reflect on someone else’s viewpoint. Because of my background in Psychology I am keenly aware of how art is able to tap into a different level of the psyche. It can touch us on a far deeper level than words can because of the way our brain processes images and colour. This gives artists a sort of power that can be used to create incredible changes in society. I only see this increasing with the use of social media.”