Welcome to Art By DLG

Art By DLG features unique art by Denise Le-Gros. Each painting is an original work of art, sold at a reasonable price. Explore the portfolio and find the perfect piece for your space.

About Me

I am a geriatric artist who is now embarking on a new (to me!) way of selling my art.  I remember when I was in junior school in Shepherds Bush, I won an art prize for my portrait of the Mayor of Hammersmith.  I won the huge amount of 7/6d which now is a pathetic 37 pence but back in the day it kept me, my sister and a group of friends in ice cream for over a month.  Happy days, but it does show how old I am.  I have always lived in London – why would I move from a place that is never boring? And I have always been creative, be it drawing, painting, papier mache, embroidery... you name it, I have tried it. I have been successful in some mediums, very unsuccessful in others! I have ruined clothes, tables, and multiple items trying to learn resin pouring and have finally had to accept that it’s beyond me. But drawing and painting... that’s another story.

MY INSPIRATION

If you have seen my Instagram page you will have noticed the range of styles, subjects and mediums that I employ.  Inspiration for my work comes from the world around me.  If I close my eyes and imagine a story to tell kids, old school fairy tales or horror stories the drawings are just a different way of telling the story.  If I find something so beautiful it makes me stand and stare at it, then I will try to reproduce that as a drawing. If something makes me smile, like a paragliding parrot (not that I have seen one, I just imagined it) then I will reproduce what my mind saw.  It is easy to be inspired... the difficult bit is putting it on paper!

MY ART AND MY ETHOS ON COSTS

I like to break things down to a simple form; not cartoonish but to nearer the central geometric shape – clouds that are half-moons, a tree that is a circle. And with my pen work, it is almost a type of yoga! Drawing 250 tiny lines to give shading to something is my happy space, my calm sea.

So when it comes to charging for my work, how do I decide what a picture is worth?

I do not frame work. It would put the cost up sometimes by as much as a three figure sum which I find ridiculous. Each piece will be in a mount, A3 size and the pictures are generally A4. My advice is do what I do... go to your local charity shop and you can get some real bargains with frames going for just a few pounds - what better way to reuse and upcycle?

The general rule given in art college for selling work is the cost of the materials, added to the number of hours spent at £10 an hour (or at least it was some years ago!) For example, if I spend five hours on a picture, that would be £50 plus another £7.50 roughly for materials including mount. But here is the good news. I am producing work because I love to. I use it as a method of relaxation, of part of my wellness regime. I do not believe that the customer should pay for the element of the work that is for my benefit so instead, whatever the cost through the art college method would be, I halve it. I still charge for the materials but the work element I go halves with you. Yes, I am the original old hippie.