Cornish based seascape artist Gemma Lessinger is a friend of the manor, proudly adorning her masterpieces in our wellness rooms and suites.
We wanted to get to know the artist behind the brush a little better as we delve into the inspirations behind a new concept, taking her away from her beloved ocean muse pieces to the natural, earthy and green tones of the countryside that our award-winning manor house hotel overlooks.
As many people may know my specialism is seascapes, which I will never get bored of creating, but I find the woodland and wild moors of Cornwall and Devon just as enchanting. As a young girl growing up, the woodland was my weekly escape from the city when we weren’t visiting Cornwall on holiday, so I find it equally as peaceful and soothing as the ocean. I always feel very connected to mother nature with trees swaying around me, moss beneath my feet, knowing there are millions of roots and eco systems beneath the surface.
My technique of using texture is how I represent the atmosphere and feelings that are evoked in me when in a place, so when I was asked to create some paintings for Boringdon Hall based on Dartmoor, I jumped at the chance. The same processes I use in creating ocean scenes can be used to build very subtle texture to portray moor and woodland.
The pieces I created represent the roots of the plant life on the moors, the earthy tones of colour I have used conveying the peaty scent in the air, the movement in the piece very organic. I have used water to create the effect in the composition, representing the many waterfalls and streams across the moors, letting that water move the paint across the canvas in whichever way it wants.
The texture in the pieces uses grit and mud from the moors, creating a similar effect to the sand in my seascape work. I also experimented with adding crushed leaves and moss into paintings to infuse it with the location.
The workshop that I will be running at Boringdon Hall will encompass the very same process I went on to create the paintings in the new Spa suites. A walk around the moor absorbing the sights, scents and scenes of the location, gathering treasures that can be used to create pattern and detail in your painting. Potentially even being incorporated into the painting.
We will then head back to Boringdon Hall and start creating, tapping into our natural creative instincts and just letting the moors and its organic beauty guide the landscape painting we will create. You don’t have to be an artist to join this workshop, you may not have ever picked up a paintbrush before! The main purpose of this session is to connect to nature and to calm your busy mind for a few hours, you may not think you have any creativity but the aim is not to create a masterpiece, it’s to just relax and express yourself.
Join Gemma as part of our two-night Textures of the Moor Break (26th-28th June) or purchase tickets to the Momentum of the Moor painting workshop on 27th June.
