Louise Body (B.1974) currently lives and works in Hastings on the south coast of the UK.
Louise studied Fine Art at Nottingham University and graduated in 1996. After studying, Louise’s career took a detour into the world of design. In 2003 she set up her own company designing and producing wallpaper and textiles. This led to some exciting collaborations and a permanent collection at the V&A Museum. In 2020 Louise made the decision to leave the world of design to return to painting full-time. Recent exhibitions include a solo show at the Old School Gallery; Northumberland and group shows at the Cambridge Contemporary, and the Art Buyer, London.
Louise’s paintings hang in private collections around the world and have been featured in magazines such as Elle Decoration and Coast Magazine. Louise also has a print range with Fine Art publishers King & McGaw and UK retailers John Lewis. Louise has recently worked with Penguin Publishing for the cover of Ian McEwans latest novel.
I paint from memory, and I am interested in the interpretation of the natural world, the way that landscapes and memories change over time and how these changes can be reflected in painting. Through these imagined landscapes, which often slip into the dream-like, I sometimes use repetitive lines to echo the fluid, wave-like patterns of dreams and thoughts, like stepping into a place between waking and sleeping, transforming the landscape into something otherworldly.
My experience of living by the sea has had a profound effect on my work. The ever present, uninterrupted horizon line where the sea meets the sky serves as a constant reminder of the vastness of the world and the smallness of ourselves within it.
By using layers of translucent paint which allow shadows and shapes to be partly revealed, I try to convey the ongoing process of change and adaptation that defines the landscape with a sense of what came before. I like this idea as a visual metaphor for memory. I find the layers of past paintings or ‘under paintings’ intriguing, they form the story of the painting. They are the ‘mistakes and the compositions that didn’t quite work but are integral to the finished piece.
My previous experience as a wallpaper and textile designer has influenced the way I work. I will often use simplified shapes, blocks of colour and repeating patterns in my landscapes and the finished piece often has a strong sense of design and print-like quality.