“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

— Dolly Parton

“Very interesting”

by Frida Fleer

(portrait of me by my grandmother)

How long is my journey to watercolour?

0 minutes to the next room in my grandparents' apartment in Russia, to see how my grandmother is drawing. She started when she was 40, left us very early but she was and still is my biggest inspiration. 

20 min and 7 tram stops when I was 10 and went to the Art school after my normal school, 4 times a week. Great teachers, first friends. 

1 hour, 3 trams, sleepless nights for 6 years when I studied Architecture in Saratov Technical University. We had all art disciplines there. Great years. Friendships for decades.

Years of sketching my ideas in different architectural practices. Moscow. Family. Kids.

No time for art for a while….

1 plane and 4 hours to Hertfordshire, UK from Moscow.

Amazed by culture and surroundings I was sketching a lot for fun.

10 Years of settling in the UK, always sketching when have time.

New friends. New life. 

1 year of lockdown. 3 workshops, piles of paper, litres of paint.

Fell in love with watercolour.

Couldn’t stop since then. 

I work mainly in watercolour and ink. I love to paint places around me, something I see everyday but under different angles.

My pictures convey my emotions and I’m happy if people feel the same way while looking at them.

Pegsdon Hills. Taking photo references.

Photo credit Lindsay Cook at lindsaycook.herts.photos

BIO

Lena is a professional artist and illustrator based in Hertfordshire, UK, and an Associate Member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art (ASGFA).

With a background and degree in Architecture, she brings a sharp eye for perspective and geometry to her favorite subjects: urban scenes, street views, and city skylines.

Working in an impressionistic style, Lena focuses on capturing the mood of a place. She is highly versatile, working with a wide range of materials from pencil and ink to oils during plein air sessions, though watercolour remains her favorite and strongest medium. Across all these mediums, she consistently carries the same signature sense of light and depth of shadows.

 Lena is a visual storyteller who is never without a sketchbook. Her work is regularly featured in London open calls and exhibited in highly prestigious galleries. Alongside her own practice, she runs workshops dedicated to unlocking creativity in others.

“I believe you have to see and feel a subject before you draw it. I love catching the buzz of the city, its people, energy, and cultures and I’m translating that into my art. I want my paintings to act as messengers that share those emotions with others.

Recent Exhibitions and Performances

  • Outside/Inside. 340 Kings Road Gallery. Chelsea, London 2026

  • Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour Annual Exhibition. The Mall Gallery. London 2026

  • The Society of Graphic Fine Art Annual Exhibition. The Mall Gallery. London 2025,2026

  • Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2026. The Mall Gallery. London 2026

  • Works on Paper. Green and Stone Gallery. 2024, 2025, 2026. Water  Based award Winner 2024

  • Green and Stone Summer Exhibition 2024. 2025  

  • Chelsea Art Society Annual Exhibition 2024. 2025  

  • Fabriano Aquarello 2024. Watercolour Festival. Bologna. Italy. Represented England 2023, 2024

  • National Post Card Competition. North Yorks Art School. Winner of the competition

  • Big Art Fair 2023 (Herts Visual Arts). Hitchin, UK. 2023,  Sponsors and Visitors Award Winner