BIOGRAPHY

Léonce Lemmens (b. 1955, Maastricht, The Netherlands) is a self-taught abstract painter, living in a small village near Zwolle, Netherlands.
She studied shortly at the Art Academy in Maastricht but changed her plans and accepted the challenge to work at a publicity agency. In the next decades she had a meandering career and worked in various organizations, from healthcare till international real estate finance.
There was always passion for art, but throughout her life painting had been private. That was until 2014 when she made a trip to the Mongolian Gobi desert. This particular experience reawakened whatever had drawn her to paint. She took up painting again and it has her full attention ever since.

Léonce Lemmens makes abstract expressionist paintings, she works with acrylics, oil, mixed media, ink and spray paint. In most paintings the compositions are build-up with many layers. Applied paint gets removed again, after which new layers are created with new elements and colors. It's a playful and inquisitive process, resulting in pieces that tell their own story. 

STATEMENT

" I paint abstract and expressionist pieces with acrylics, oil, mixed media, ink and spray on canvas and paper.
My paintings are originals and inspired by memories. In my paintings I try to capture the ephemeral - that which lies beyond words or reason. It's just intuitive, my feeling and energy are leading in the moment.
I love traveling, it's a great source of inspiration. Of course inspiration comes from these trips, but also from occurrences in daily life, cultures, contrasts spotted in nature or cities, architecture. I'm interested in people: their stories, where and how they live.
While painting I have no limits. I love to paint minimalistic black/white, but I often end up in colors. During the process I like to explore and mix colors and materials, maybe that's the reason. The result is that I sometimes mess up a painting, but this can also be the start of something unexpectedly new.
Painting is fun, although it sometimes can be a struggle: is it enough, finished, too much? However, it's always an adventure."