LISA LANGAN SOLO SHOW - FACES & FIGURES

ART AS A FORM OF THERAPY

“All my work is original.  I work from life but for finer details beyond direct observation at times”

A new solo exhibition, entitled “Faces & Figures” by celebrated Southport artist Lisa Langan, will open in February at the Southport Contemporary Arts Gallery in Eastbank Street.

Lisa has was awarded the gallery space when her painting “Sore Loser” was voted the winner of the Peoples Choice in the 2019 Sefton Open, organized by the Southport Palette Club.

No stranger to displaying her prodigious talent before an ever-discerning public’s critical eye, over the past 10 years Lisa’s artwork has appeared in over 40 group exhibitions and she has also staged 7 solo shows, including a display at the The Atkinson in Lord Street in 2018.  In both 2016 and 2019 Lisa was shortlisted twice for the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Galleries in London.  She will be returning to The Atkinson again with another solo show in 2021.  Always generous with her time she is often found sharing her considerable skills in community workshops and projects around the region.

“Working with children is extremely rewarding. They have no limitations and nothing you produce for them is too difficult for them to create. There are no boundaries. I think art is very important for children, it helps them see things differently.”

Lisa’s own interest in art stems back to her own childhood in Ireland. “As a young girl I would spend hours in my bedroom drawing. I sketched my father as he watched TV and other members of my family in the sitting room.” 

Growing up, Lisa started to construct jewellery and she taught herself to sew which came in useful, when as a financially stretched Fine Art student at the Crawford College of Art & Design in Cork, she knitted her own jumpers and made her own skirts.  Lisa subsequently undertook further explorations into Interior Design and Furniture Design at the Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in the late 1990’s.

“Although I enjoy working in watercolour and mixed media, my favorite media is oils.  It’s an extraordinary medium that can be used in so many different ways, and the colour it brings is always so vibrant. .”

At first glance, Lisa’s still-life paintings can appear as realistic, almost photorealistic, translations of the everyday onto canvas.  However, look again, there is much more than meets the casual eye.

“Art, in many forms, has always been a part of my life, but painting has consistently acted like a form of therapy for me. In the words of American studio artist, Emily Garce, ‘Negative images can be easier to filter than negative words’.  In my own work I found this was really the case. Adverse emotions were transformed after much paint application. Choosing specific items that spoke about a personal situation, putting feeling and thought into each scenario and reliving the moment as I painted, all assisted in creating the ‘final piece’ and, without doubt, always dissolved any previous negative emotions.”

Lisa’s work will be on view from 18th - 29th February at SCA/ArtHouse, 65 Eastbank Street (Tues thro Fri 10.00 – 15.00 and Sat 11.00 – 16.00).