Wildlife artist and nature enthusiast, expressing love of nature through watercolour and ink.
Lenka has two loves when it comes to creating art – watercolour and ink. Born in Slovakia, she lived in England all her adult life, first in Surrey and on the outskirts of London, and she’s called Northamptonshire her home for the past 10 years.
Always interested in art, she loved visiting the plethora of art galleries in London, with the Tate Gallery being a firm favourite as she always loved the art of the late 19th and early 20th century which captured her imagination. As an avid photographer, she was drawn to capturing nature and seeing beauty in details, hence macro photography featured heavily in her images. Both interests shaped her art and are heavily reflected in it: her art captures the essence of her subjects, concentrates on the details.
Being told that she can’t draw when she was eight, she believed it for a very long time. In 2019, after wondering whether drawing can be learnt, she found a simple course that proved to her that indeed drawing doesn’t need to be a natural talent, hard work can lead to great results. A few months later she purchased a set of watercolours and embarked on a wonderful journey of colour and discovery. Thankfully, very early on she came across Tracy Lizotte, a wonderful watercolour artist based in Maine, USA, who has been the most amazing tutor, leading her from being an absolute beginner to becoming the artist that she is today.
Watercolours have a mind of their own and Lenka loves playing with that unpredictability, allowing them to lead her art in unexpected directions, to dictate the colours, shapes and often the values of the final work.
Ink work is more structured. The focus is on capturing light and shadow, forgetting about colour and concentrating on the detail, on how light hits and reflects off an eye, nose, fur or feather, creating shadows and patterns.
The eyes are the window to the soul and Lenka is forever fascinated by their beauty. Eyes tell a story. Endless variety of colours, shapes and the surrounding facial features in the animal kingdom are her favourite subject and she always strives to capture the story they tell.
Lenka is very excited to be able to showcase her work at Stanwick Lakes as this nature reserve has been one of her favourite places to visit for years.
