Liz Coats, Cicadas C4, 1992, acrylic on canvas, 74 x 147 cm — *Liz Coats,* Cicadas C4, 1992, acrylic on canvas, 74 x 147 cm

“In the space between one thing and another, there is a world without words that exists in imagination, and insights waiting to be made tangible. I reach out and function in a world without words through painting.”

— Liz Coats, Active Seeing, 2017

Liz Coats is an abstract painter who has exhibited in solo and group shows since the mid-1970s. She works in series' that explore enduring questions about colour perception and spatial relations.

Liz’s paintings are held in numerous public and private collections, including the Australian National Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria, and the Auckland City Art Gallery.

Based in Canberra, Liz is a Studio Holder at Strathnairn Arts and a valued part of our community. Liz was kind enough to give us a little insight into her day to day studio life to coincide with her book “Active Seeing” becoming available for sale in SHOP.

How would you describe your Arts Practice ?

When I began to experiment with abstract colour painting in the mid-1970s, I needed to ask foundational questions about why make this commitment. To recognise what aspects of visual imagery mattered to me. Accepting stylistic models, for instance, applied geometric or expressionist approaches, was not helpful. As a young woman entering this contested field, I wanted to engage with perceptual shifts in colour relations through direct experience of working with paint colours, apart from predetermined outcomes.

By applying small, repetitive brushmarks in cross-layers to stretched linen, I could pay equal attention to the marks and space between them. Economy of means and attention to detail in the moment mattered, for colours in overlapping hues and spatial relations that would shape the whole image.

An energetic rhythm began to show in those nets of colour that could be viewed at a direct, experiential level. I have followed this approach to image-making as a continuous thread through all the paintings.

What do you find most inspiring about your art space?

The Strathnairn woolshed studio space is small, while I benefit from closeness to the atmospherics of clear light, indigenous vegetation and bird life.

What does a studio day in your life look like?

Driving from the city, as soon as I step out of the vehicle, a sense of stillness and depth in the ground invites me into engagement with surrounding natural phenomena. The environment has encouraged me to experiment with distilling colours for painting from historic, organic sources. I was fortunate to receive an artsACT Homefront grant to initiate this project, one that will occupy me in the foreseeable future.

The range of hues available in traditional colours might appear limited compared with commercial colours that I am used to working with, while I know these fresh colour substances from their emergence.

What are the biggest challenges facing working artists and how do you overcome them?

I can only speak for myself, but I am concerned about the welfare of artists, especially women. Conviction about one’s commitment to the practice matters, apart from the opinion of others. I invite a continuous flow of ideas that is life-affirming, making the work always interesting, even without consistent financial reward or recognition. Transforming visual ideas into practical outcomes that align with one’s sensing body in the wider environment, have communicable value in open society.

What do you read, watch, listen to, to stay inspired?

Research and writing are a large part of my practice. I read widely on the emergence of modernist painting internationally, with biographies and autobiographies of artists and writers. At the moment I’m reading books about promotion of Aboriginal art and questions about the making of those paintings.

“I want to go deeper; to be led into the surface through a dimensional network of colour shapes and gaps between that have equal importance. Sometimes I want the colours to circulate around and through each other, to be as irregular as possible before the composition loses cohesion.”

— Liz Coats