About Liz Allen

versão Portugues

Studied at Croydon College of Art and Design 1975-76,  then Bath Academy of Art 1976-79, and obtained 

About my past

After art college, continued painting in various back bedrooms and attics, basements and bathrooms, etc, but quickly ran out of space (we were encouraged to paint large at college).  

Eventually gave up and got a job.  But in 1994, moved from London to Brighton, packed the job in and got my paints out.   I found I had to undo all the academic stuff art school had instilled in me to find my true way of painting.  This took quite a few years!

Apart from allowing my true painter to emerge, (an almost constant struggle between the trained bit of me and my artist), during this time I was drawn to learning new things, and took a couple of teaching courses, amongst others, and ran my own monoprint and collage workshops for over 10 years.

The present : Algarve Artist

In 2005, I moved to the western Algarve, Portugal and current paintings are mainly of the Algarve landscape and scenery, from rural landscape to town scenes.  My paintings have a simplified style which is distinctive and extremely colourful.  

Most of my paintings start with a cartoon like drawing; a direct and spontaneous response to what I see, and it is this that the painting is built on.   Colour is an important element in my paintings.  I enjoy being bold and uncompromising with colour - even quite extreme at times.   Pattern is also a feature I like to develop and play with.  

For me the purpose is that the process should be joyful and if it is, the result will be also!

I hope that you enjoy looking at them.

Recent exhibitions:

Paintings by Liz Allen, Caldas de Monchique 16-30 April 2010
Gallery Studio 21, Loule, group show 1-27 February 2010
Armazen Regimental, Lagos, various exhibitions 2009
Arte Viva, Sao Bras de Alportel 12&13 July 2009
Town and Country, Museu de Trajo, Sao Bras de Alportel, August 2009
Off the Wall Galeria, Alte, 2007&8

Photos of the places featured in my paintings, as well as my paintings can be seen on

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