Behind The Artist: When Talent Meets Passion

Born in Liverpool, United Kingdom, Ceri Lamplugh spent her teenage years living in Markham, Ontario. In 1989, she moved to Guelph to study History at the University of Guelph. During her post-secondary education, Lamplugh found her love for art and began sketching for fun which turned into teaching herself how to paint. Before long, others noticed her talent and began requesting commissioned pieces. Her paintings are now enjoyed by many; corporations, public institutions, and private collectors.

Lamplugh defines her work as abstract. “Abstract art” is understood as not a truthful representation of the real world but rather a deconstruction of it and molded by the artist’s point of view. Lamplugh’s view represented in her work is influenced and inspired by past experiences, music, and her as a whole. Once her emotions and experiences slowly dry into the canvas, the painting is finished and those privileged enough to admire it will see a small but important part of her that has been portrayed in the painting.

Creating art for more than 20 years, Lamplugh has found painting to be a way of expressing herself and connecting to others. She describes herself as “Creative at heart” and finds great joy in turning an empty canvas into a mesmerizing piece of art.

“I use colours and textures to tell my story and I hope you're inspired to find your own connections to my work.”

The paintings Lamplugh creates are surreal, the more you look at them you start thinking about what the paint tells you, what does it mean to you? How does it make you feel? What emotions does it evoke when looking at it? For some, her art might look like a plant, for others a landscape or an explosion of emotions displayed on paint. It is like having multiple paintings into one as you might discover something new in it, there is always something hiding that is waiting for the viewer to find. That is the beauty of it, discovering yourself through art and trusting your intuition on what you can see and how it makes you feel. Lamplugh not only wants to showcase her talent, but she also wants you to see “yourself” in her work and connect to it in a way that reflects others' own experiences and emotions.

“Usually, the paintings name and paint themselves.”

Perhaps a good example of this can be found in her painting, “Seeking solitude”, which was created in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, everything felt odd, having to work from home, travel restrictions to missing family and friends. “Seeking solitude” depicts being drawn through the forest towards the sound of a waterfall, only to find the space littered with the red and yellow raincoats of others seeking the same escape.  

Unless it is a specific commissioned piece of work, she begins the process by focusing upon the experience or emotion she wants to convey. Often, there is no plan, there is no script, one painting might take up to a couple of weeks if it is not commissioned, it just happens organically. “I am a joyful painter”, she says, and this is evident in her colourful, expressive, and cheerful work.

Commissions provide her with another avenue to express herself. When given complete artistic freedom, her only limit is the object she works with, her art always takes her in different interesting new directions. Commissioned pieces have tapped into her creative talents through a wide range of requests. Each piece of art is different, and although she has been asked to “redo” certain pieces in different colour palettes to suit their collectors’ needs, each piece is painted in the moment and therefore those emotions cannot be replicated. 

“Each commission is welcomed as an opportunity for me to develop my skills and grow as an artist” 

She does not limit herself to working on canvas, she has done some amazing work over the years. Taking something as simple as a rock and turning it into a magical piece of art to tell a beautiful story or visualizing what earth would have looked like through a window 2,000 years ago. Lamplugh also created the design for stained glass chapel windows and turned an ordinary electric guitar into a mind-blowing one-of-a-kind piece that Orville Gibson would have been proud to see.

Evidently, COVID-19 has affected us all, but it has been a blessing in some ways. For Lamplugh, it provided the time that enabled her to experiment using new materials and techniques to express herself. It also provided her with the opportunity to get online, something that she wanted to do for a long time. Thanks to the ShopHERE Program Powered by Google, and her devoted coordinator, she was able to convert a long-time passion into a successful eCommerce website that showcases her art in a chic, simple fashion. 

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this program. I was struggling to get to this point but the ShopHERE team made everything attainable and effortless.”

Looking back on how she began with the support of friends, family, and colleagues, she has come a long way. If a global pandemic was not able to “stop” her from becoming a successful businesswoman, what will? What does the future hold for Ceri Lamplugh? After years and years of exploring shapes, colours, emotions, techniques and much more, she is now ready to properly show the world what she is made of. 

You can purchase her work through her eCommerce website, artbyceri.ca. If you are interested in commission work, you can reach out to her at [email protected]. Make sure to not forget to follow her on Instagram (Ceri Lamplugh (@artbyceri)) to stay up to date with her latest paintings and be part of her growing community of art enthusiasts.

Are you interested in joining the world of eCommerce just like Ceri Lamplugh did? Join the ShopHERE Program Powered by Google here and let us guide you through this exciting transition for free.