About Jayne Leighton Herd

Thank you for looking at my work! :) Much of my original abstract art is inspired by the intricate pattern of life and by the natural world.

I don’t aim to depict reality in my work. I’m not interested in recreating what I can see with my own eyes. Only what comes from within me, letting ideas and shapes, inspiration and mental snapshots meld and take form in my mind’s eye to create the basis of a series of work or painting. When it comes to reality, I intend that the eye of the beholder should create the painting’s reality, or perhaps their own. So while I influence the idea behind each piece, I never tire of hearing the story that the viewer in front of it describes.

My paintings often explore the various paths we travel, the deliberate and the unintentional changes of direction and, always at the centre, our core of self and our dreams, values and relationships that make us who we are. I interpret this in textile-like paintings: detailed, textured patchworks of intense, woven colour, sometimes with layers of metallised collage reminiscent of pieced work, which blend into threaded sweeping strokes or into drips of loose, unfinished threads.

My paintings are vivid experiences that could satisfy both sight and touch. Energy, movement and space, bold sweeps and strokes feature in my work, combined with tempting texture and iridescence. I intend to attract not only the eye, but also to incite a tactile urge. Go on, you know you want to! ;-)

A Bit About Me!

I have been a professional artist for 14 years. Art and design are quite simply my ‘raison d’être’!

The nature of my art is in part thanks to my creative design background. Years spent working in advertising, marcoms and graphic design provided me with amazing opportunities to develop my artistic and design skills, as well as honing my natural flair for colour. I also learned to value clarity and attention to fine detail.

I regularly exhibit my work and undertake commissions from both private and commercial clients. My paintings feature in private collections in the UK and abroad, including the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, France, Spain and Germany.

When I'm not painting and designing, I love spending time with my French other half; a great evening with friends, laughing and enjoying good food; going for exhilarating walks with my camera in hand; an excellent book I can get lost in; music that makes my skin tingle; dancing until my feet hurt; travelling and discovering new places that captivate me; and finding inspiration wherever I go.