Lizzie Wagstaff is an artist printmaker whose work represents a personal response to memory, exploring notions of identity both real and imagined. This uniquely personal approach evolves from her own life experiences which contain tragedy as well as joy. Her creativity is, therefore, emotion led and highly motivated. Using paint as a preferred medium of choice together with printmaking she regularly produces vibrant layered effects.
Recent projects investigate identity and the importance of a name to identify a face in order to produce a tangible existence. Lizzie gathers names, some from historic family members but often a distant collection of erstwhile friends with unknown faces. Her memories juxtapose fact with fiction to create colourful characters which are then transposed to canvas. Women feature regularly as strong influences in her work. Traditionally trained, with life drawing as the established construct to artistic achievement, her work now proffers a more imaginative approach. Rather than attempt a realistic facsimile she draws from observation of the subject which has inspired her to create and concentrates on a particular attribute, and often an amusing affectation. Accentuating a particular attribute while producing a sensitive depiction remains a natural outcome of the work, as creating on an intuitive level the artwork remains completely random and original.
Lizzie explores colour and abstract form to create an image which results in a quirky depiction of a singular familiar likeness emanating entirely from her imagination and transforming it into a coherent narrative.
Following an art foundation course at Macclesfield College where her passion for contemporary art became apparent, she then completed a BA Hons degree in Fine Art, graduating from Staffordshire University. Exhibiting widely in the Cheshire area, she has also had her work shown in the RA Summer Exhibition London. Her art continues to evolve with originality and a unique artistic style.