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Leonara Carrington: “Painting is a need, not a choice.”

“Painting is a need, not a choice.” Leonora Carrington was one of the most important female artists of the 20th century. An artist, a painter, a novelist, Leonara was much more than that with her remarkable individuality.

Leonara carrington was the key figure in the surrealist movement. Surrealist movement was a cultural movement started in 1920s. Artists brought in life to many everyday objects, expressions to ideas and developed painting techniques which eventually changed the literature, music, visual arts, film, language and also influenced society.

One of the finest artists of her times, Leonara says, “I painted for myself…I never believed anyone would exhibit or buy my work.” Probably, this is what doing something which brings you alive mean.

She is often called as the person who wasn’t meant to fit in according to the society norms. She was expelled serially from schools. She was brought up in an upper class family and she willing to take up arts to study was not encouraged by her father. She went against his will and pursued what she desired. This is what she tells about her decision, “I didn’t have time to be anyone’s muse. I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist.”

If you are curious to see more of  her art works then you must watch this video

Leonara Carrington was a prolific writer and a story teller with books like The Hearing Trumpet, The Seventh Horse And Other Tales, House of Fear, Down Below and The Oval Lady, Other Stories: Six Surreal Stories. 

She has been considered as an artist who celebrated the creation in itself. Here is a line from her book ‘The Hearing Trumpet’ which goes like this: “One has to be careful what one takes when one goes away forever.”  and we know what she took away when she left this world.