Artist Q & A: Celia Lees

In our latest artist Q & A, abstract painter Celia Lees discusses the conscious act of selective seeing, the quieting effect of a muted palette, and her love of abstraction as a means of expressing her interior world.

Eyes Shut opens at Bau-Xi Vancouver's Upper Gallery on September 12 and runs through September 26, 2026.

1. You started out in the fashion world and segued to painting. Have you retained any influence from that world in your art practice?

Definitely. I think my background in fashion still influences my work in a lot of ways, even if it is not always something I am consciously thinking about. Colour theory and composition are probably the most obvious ones. Fashion taught me a lot about structure, balance, and how different elements can work together to create a feeling. The medium has changed, but that instinct to take a feeling or idea and find a visual language for it is still very much there.

Celia Lees, Where I Will Be. Acrylic, Acrylic Ink & Oil Stick on Canvas, 36 x 80 inches

2. Your work has been exhibited in multiple cities across North America, and Eyes Shut marks your inaugural exhibition in Vancouver. Does presenting a collection to a new audience have any bearing on how you think about the work or how you imagine it being received?

It is always really exciting to me to see how the work is received in a new place. It does not have much of an impact on how I create the work itself, because I try to stay focused on my own experiences and instincts while making it.

However, I do think about how the lived experiences of the people seeing the work might shape their relationship to it. Everyone brings something different when they look at a painting, depending on where they are, what they have grown up around, and the life they have lived. Colour and form can also signify very different things across cultures. A colour that evokes one feeling for someone might carry a completely different meaning for someone else.

Celia Lees, Quiet Hour. Acrylic, Acrylic Ink & Oil Stick on Canvas, 24 x 18 inches

3. There is something almost radical about restraint in an environment that constantly rewards more: more information, more imagery, more explanation, more stimulation. How conscious were you of the contemporary media environment while making these paintings? Did you find yourself actively resisting particular forms of visual or cultural noise?

I think I am always actively resisting that sense of overload in some way. We are surrounded by so much information and stimulation all the time, and when I am painting, I try to create some distance from that and be present in the process. That can mean getting off social media, looking at less work online, and generally keeping my head down while I am making. I have also become more aware of how much the things we consume can affect us emotionally, even when we are not consciously thinking about them. I try to be mindful of what I am taking in and how it can linger in your mind.

When possible, I reduce screen time in the studio and spend more time looking at what is around me. I want my lived experiences to influence the paintings emotionally, without everything I consume directly showing up in the work.

Celia Lees, Less to Know. Acrylic, Acrylic Ink & Oil Stick on Canvas, 24 x 18 inches

4. The works in this collection are notably spare, with elegant staining and considered marks. How did this formal language emerge from the conceptual concerns of Eyes Shut, and can you talk about the contrast between and juxtaposition of staining and gestural marks in these works?

This visual language came from me thinking about that internal space you can return to, a place of calm in a world that can often feel overstimulating.

The staining creates that quieter, more atmospheric space for me. It feels expansive and calm, almost like a place for your mind to rest. Then the gestural marks come in as these little moments of energy or interest, as if your mind is lighting up. Even in stillness, your mind is never completely empty. There are always thoughts, memories, feelings, or little flashes of something moving through. The paintings hold both of those states at once.

Celia Lees, Nothing Left. Acrylic, Acrylic Ink & Oil Stick on Canvas, 36 x 48 inches

5. Colour seems particularly important to the emotional atmosphere of this body of work. How did you arrive at your palette, and what do you hope these colours indicate?

The palette came very naturally to me. I have been creating a lot of blue work lately, and that felt like a starting point for this collection. I wanted to explore some new blues that felt atmospheric, and then naturally pair them with colours that made sense alongside them.
I did not want the palette to feel too bright. I think the sparse compositions speak nicely for themselves when they are paired with more subdued colours. I tend to go through different seasons with colour, and right now blues have really been resonating with me. I try not to overthink it too much and usually let my gut guide me towards what feels right.

Celia Lees, Returning Thoughts. Acrylic, Acrylic Ink & Oil Stick on Canvas, 36 x 48 inches

6. Has making this work changed what you choose to look at, or choose not to look at, in your own life?

I think all of my collections are, in some way, a process of taking in information and experiences from my own life, processing them, and putting them back out into the world in a different form. Making Eyes Shut has made me more aware of what I am taking in and how much space I give myself to process it. The idea of turning inward for a moment is something I have found myself doing more consistently, both in and outside of the studio.




The artist in her Toronto studio.