Liz POLUNIN

Born in 1943 at Petersfield,Hampshire, Liz Polunin first exhibited aged 11 in a National Schools Exhibition. As a musician she studied the viola with Peter Schidlof (Amadeus Quartet) and played in a string trio with Jacqueline du Pre and Peter Thomas. She won the only Post Graduate instrumental scholarship to Moscow's Conservatorium and spent 25 years with the London and international Chamber Orchestras. On leaving the world of music Liz then studied Applied Kinesiology and Chiropractics (the anatomy and mechanics of human muscles) and became Chairman of the McTimoney Chiropractic Association.

Finally in 2000 Liz returned to her first love - painting, strongly influenced by the works of her grandparents, Vladimir and Elizabeth Polunin, in the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A and the sceneries they painted for Diaghilev's Russian Ballet with artists such as Picasso and Matisse.

Liz studied mainly with Robin Child, exhibited at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design, concentrating on works of the late 20th Century artists from Cezanne onwards concentrating more on developing an intuitive feel for colour and movement.

"I paint not what I see but what I feel about what I see over time, and its underlying structure and rhythm. I am awed by the majesty of mountains and the weight of ancient stones, the light scintillating and changing with the weather, of spaciousness across water; with a feeling of being in mid-performance rather than observing from the outside.

In the same way I am fascinated by what happens to paint and colour on the canvas, paper or board: the integrity and risk of a fiercely applied mark or juicy slash of paint, the tactile overlays or scrape through; translucent colour singing against subtle adjacent opacities'.

Noel Oddy & Laurie MacLaren September 2006