CORDELIA, Lois

1982 - ?

Lois Cordelia Bülow-Osborne was born at Ipswich in 1982, daughter of John Douglas Osborne and his wife Erika A. R. née Bülow, who married at Ipswich in 1981. Lois paints under the name of Lois Cordelia. Educated at the Northgate School in Ipswich and studied at Edinburgh University taking an hon. degree in Arabic in 2006, with the beauty of Arabic script being major influence in her drawing techniques. A self-taught artist in cut-paper, acrylics, and mixed media, based at her studio in Ipswich. She works in diverse styles, ranging from intricate silhouette paper-cut designs to bold and energetic acrylic paintings. Lois likes to explore themes of energy, flow, dance, and movement, evoking these through sweeping lines and brushstrokes. In the case of paper-cuts, an equally energetic freehand sketch forms the basis of a precise design that is then cut out of the paper, piece by piece, choosing which lines and shapes to cut and which to leave intact, to achieve an aesthetic balance between positive and negative and between the blade's precision and free-flowing lines her artwork spans a vast spectrum between precision and free-flowing energy. A prolific artist and illustrator in cut-paper, acrylics, and mixed media and 1999-2019 worked as an assistant in the west London studio of children's author-illustrator Jan Pienkowski (1936-2022), best known for his Meg and Mog series (with co-author Helen Nicoll), pop-up books including 'Haunted House', and several volumes of fairytale silhouette illustrations. Her work has been featured in a short film, 'Habibti' (Panacea Productions, London, March 2010), and as front cover and vignette book illustrations such as the 'Birdbook' series, (Sidekick Books, 2011) and for 'SternenBlick' (2015), also as illustrations for CD album artwork. She has had many mixed exhibitions in England and in Switzerland and solo exhibitions at Ancient House Gallery, Ipswich; University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy, Edinburgh; Fine Art Library, Edinburgh; View from the Top Gallery, Nottingham; Kulturforum Schwimmhalle Schloss Plön, Germany; Open the Gate, London; the Edmund Gallery, Bury St Edmund's; Dove Cottage, Debenham, Suffolk; Elephant and Castle, London and Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket. Lois has completed several public art pieces including 'Pig-geswyk' for the 2016 'Pigs Gone Wild' trail and 'Elmer's Elephants' for the Ipswich Trail. She also specialises in illustration and personalised gift commissions.
Website: https://www.loiscordelia.com

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Works by This Artist