Lavinia Gallie (b. 1950, London, England) lives in a Warwickshire village, working in a variety of media, including watercolour, oil on linen and printmaking. Geometry, pattern and a lifelong interest in colour are the main strands which have always run through her work.

Pure geometric abstraction can tend towards coolness, and while geometry is an important part of structuring the work, she tries to balance this formality with a relaxed handling of the paint, and use of secondary and tertiary colours.

There is usually a simple plan at the start of a painting, using themes which recur and change over time;  but in the end a work will resolve itself in sometimes quite unexpected ways - if this is allowed to happen. The resolution of a work nearly always depends on an equal mix of chance and design. 

Recently she has mainly focused on painting with watercolour on Indian paper (Khadi), a handmade paper which is full of possibilities as it reacts to the watercolour, buckling and curling, becoming almost sculptural. 

Work is held in private and public collections in the UK and internationally.

"In my paintings, colour and surface play a central role. The backgrounds are built up with many thin layers of oil paint so that subtle marks and brushstrokes can be seen as if through a veil, and the colours, although muted, gradually achieve some depth. Then the motif, often geometric and linear, is applied over this, creating a tension between fore- and background. The motifs derive from many sources - simple geometry, folk art, Islamic textiles and architecture - and are deliberately kept pared-down and minimal. These are slow, contemplative paintings which need time to absorb and enjoy." Lavinia Gallie