Astrid Leeson is a contemporary Scottish Landscape painter who incorporates both the visceral nature of a pléin Air approach to her work with a quieter, more contemplative studio approach. The images she captures reflect her wonder, her joy at views of Scotlandthat have not fundamentally changed in thousands of years and yet paradoxically, can change hour by hour. Recognising the therapeutic potential of the natural world these pictures presented as a timely reminder of the pockets of peace, still available in these noisy times.
'I am a painter. And winning this exhibition has provided me with the opportunity to seriously reflect on the process of painting, or in truth, the process of my painting. To begin with there are no muses, no instant inspirations, no easy route, rather the process my paintings demand is hard work, honesty, pain and joy. Real joy comes from emerging myself into the landscape and focusing on pushing paint around not necessarily to record what I just see but what I feel. The pain is evident when my brush, paint and brain fail to coordinate the way my heart needs. The joy is when pushing through these moments of discomfort, despair and disappointment and I can breathe again. Honesty and hard work, I believe, are self-evident. My work is founded on 1) The real need to paint/ process my experiences. 2) and the influences of philosophers Heidegger and Bachelard and the geographer Yi-fu Tuan.Heidegger saw our 'very being' as connected to place, and Bachelard saw the strong links between emotion and place.Yi-Tuan writes 'if we think of space as that which allows movement, then place is pause; each pause in movement makes it possible for location to be transformed into place.' He further suggests that our relationship with location is enriched by our experiences within that pause. In other words, the sights, smells, sounds, the feel of a place, the history, the stories we tell, the connections we make with others are the essential elements required to transform a pause into something more meaningful than a convenient resting point. A continuing relationship, or bond, develops adding layers to layers some of which will instantly affect and influence our experiences while others will lie dormant in our unconscious until consciously required. This is the very essence of what I am trying to connect with in paint. These paintings are a personalised combination of what I see and feel when wandering Scotland, in doing this I am presenting open insights into who I am, what I believe, and what I do.'