Artist statement
Bristol-based painter Maria Lee-Warren is drawn to the quiet power of nature, creating impressionistic works that invite viewers to slow down and really look. Her florals, waterlilies, and landscapes are painted in oils using brushes, rollers, and sticks, worked wet-on-wet to build layered, textural surfaces. Looseness, drips, and movement echo the atmosphere of the places that inspire her, while careful composition gives each piece balance and presence. With over a decade of practice and a background in design, Maria brings both sensitivity and precision to her work. Her paintings feel grounded, tactile, and timeless, art that connects people back to realness.

Artist biography
Maria Lee-Warren is a Bristol-based painter whose work centres on nature and the atmospheres it creates. Originally from South London, she moved to Bristol as an adult, where the landscapes of the Mendip Hills and the surrounding waterways opened up a new, slower way of looking. This shift profoundly shaped her artistic direction, grounding her practice in the colours, light, and quiet rhythms of the natural world.

She began painting in oils in 2023, transitioning from acrylics for environmental reasons and drawn to the traditional, tactile qualities of the medium. Her approach is informed by short courses at the St Ives School of Painting and a largely self-taught evolution, supported by her earlier training in Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins. This design background lends a clarity and intentionality to her compositions, which underpin the fluidity of her alla prima, wet-on-wet technique.

Lee-Warren has exhibited in Bristol at North Street Gallery and The Old School House, building a practice that balances sensitivity with precision. Through layered textures, considered compositions, and an intuitive handling of colour and light, her paintings offer a grounded, contemporary response to the natural landscapes that inspire her.