ABOUT LISSY

Lissy’s life has been shaped by her love of the sea. From an early age her summers were spent living in a beach hut in Dorset; days were whiled away fishing for mackerel, diving down to the mussel beds, snorkelling over the migrating spider crabs and trying to spot flat fish on the sandy ocean floor. She has now made her home on one of the most beautiful stretches of coast in South Devon, and is fortunate to be able to dip in the sea on a daily basis.

Following her BA (Hons) Art with Related Arts degree Lissy spent a few years travelling and working overseas where she established a passion for conservation. On her return she found work as an Assistant Estate Manager looking after 300 acres of woodland before moving to live by the sea in Devon and joining her future husband working on his oyster farm.

Her freediving journey began in 2009 after a holiday to Cape Verde where she watched a local boy dive down to untangle a boat’s anchor, frustrated at not being able to dive as deep as he had she returned home and began researching breath hold. Lissy gained her first freediving qualification shortly after and spent the next few years advancing her skills and then working for Freedive UK as an Assistant Freedive Instructor and Mermaid Instructor as well as carrying out marine conservation work with Blue Ventures, ReefCI and Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme.

During this time her art had become a hobby confined to sketch books and journals but in 2017 El Sea Mar Art was born and she began selling cards and prints of the pen and ink sea creatures she’d interacted with whilst diving. Lissy uses fine liner pens with a dot work technique and Indian inks, although there is a scientific illustration element to her drawing what she really tries to convey is how the creatures move and interact with a diver underwater.

In contrast to her pen and ink drawings Lissy also enjoys the polarity of working with fabric and stitch to create colour and texture. Her textile seascapes are a tribute to the many golden sandy beaches, turquoise seas and deep blue oceans she has enjoyed around the globe.

Lissy’s work is featured in private collections worldwide and she is often commissioned to draw a favourite sea creature or recreate a happy beach memory in textiles. She is currently working towards an exhibition in Brick Lane, London.

Lissy also works part time at Love the Sea Gallery in Salcombe, a beautiful nautical inspired gallery which showcases the work of talented local photographer Nick Philbedge. A selection of her original textile work is available to buy there alongside Nick’s stunning marine and coastal views.