1985 – Foundation Course at Wimbledon School of Art
Here I gained comprehensive experience in many forms of art from sculpture to printmaking, graphic design and theatre design as well as painting, textiles and photography. I decided to specialise in painting and also spent hours in the wonderful darkroom there. At the end of the year I was also awarded the prize for drawing.

1986-1989 – BA Hons Fine Art at North East London Polytechnic, now the University of East London

Here I continued to develop my painting, working mainly in oils and on large canvases, averaging at about 10 x 8 feet which although is a very liberating scale to paint on, though it’s not so great transporting it on top of a mini clubman! I was located in Plaistow and then Stratford in the East End of London with some great friends and inspiration around me. They were very happy days.

Much of my subject matter explored the abstraction of the surrounding industrial landscape and in particular how nature was reclaiming vast areas of disused sites. The hidden beauty of the old docklands and factories seemed almost alchemic, as lichen, rust and moss gradually softened and transformed the hard constructed lines. I was particularly struck by the brutal, dynamic structures, textures and colours. The area of course has had a rebirth in the last few decades and is now almost unrecognisable. Little did I know too that I’d be married to one of my oldest friends who I met on the course thirty years later and my life too would be transformed. I particularly remember the magnificence of an acid plant at West Ham, London when I was an art student. It’s sizable construction was clearly visable from the tube train and had to be viewed at night, when the entire factory would be illuminated with the most amazing neon blue. It was truly spectacular; skeletal and fragile somehow. As Henri Matisse noted ‘A certain blue enters your soul.’ and yes, even in an old acid plant in the East End of London I found awe and wonder next to a train track. My final thesis, I researched the symbolic and cathartic connotations of the colour red, focusing particularly on the life and works of Mark Rothko and Edvard Munch.

Recent Work

Printmaking

My printmaking seeks to engage with a language of fragmented history. I am drawn to documenting subject matter that is gradually disappearing, embracing signs of wear, daily use, and repair in my printed marks. The resulting prints are a timeline preserving fragile and vulnerable stories that open a new conversation, seeking to illustrate a timeless moment and intend to preserve their intrinsic beauty within my linear marks and composition.

My recent Heirloom series intricately documents memories of family and their legacy through their skilled handmade lace and embroidery made over 100 years ago. These fragile pieces of textile are now incredibly vulnerable. They have been loved and cherished and now tell their story through their frays, tears and repairs. The concentric patterns of loops and knots are perfect for printmaking. I retrace each stitch using the finest of tools, varied mark making and extreme patience. The resulting prints are meditations on fragility, time, and the act of remembering.

I am developing this theme by further exploring crazed ceramic vessels, as well as the intricacy of centuries old marquetry and reassembled medieval shards of stained glass. From sketches made at the Fitzwilliam, local collections, and treasured personal pieces, I feel the cracks, repairs and reassembly respond perfectly with my Heirloom series.

My print medium has been predominately linocut, with some collagraphs and monotype. My linocuts are hand printed using a baren for extreme control on Shiramine Select Awagami paper, as well as Fabriano Rosaspina. I was absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Society of Wood Engravers Prize at this year’s RE Original Print exhibition, which will open up new avenues to explore.

Painting

My recent paintings explore the gripping beauty of our stunning shores, in particular the eroding East Anglian coastline. I am also inspired by our landscape here in Britain and love to capture the fantastic array of hues, patterns and textures found hidden in the hills and valleys edged by fields, tracks and trees. I love to think of pigments and marks to best describe what I see, sketching en plein air where possible and then exploring these back in the studio.

I’m drawn to the wonderfully organic forms and textures that nature provides, juxtaposed with human intervention and colour too has always been central to my work. The tussle between nature and human intervention is a focus on these contrasts, pushing pigments and linear marks to evoke a sense of emotion and to make the subject resonate. I love the thrill of applying paint to canvas, with bold washes and thick textured brush marks working with immediacy and excitement, seeking to capture that first glimpse of a stunning view or the rhythmic power of the tide lapping at the shore. I aim to impart that feeling of awe to the viewer in a fleeting moment as one glimpses an ever changing viewpoint. I like to think my paintings are fearless. I take risks with them at all stages of their development, in order to seek that balance between complete freedom and skilled control.

Collaboration

I am also very fortunate to work in collaboration with my husband, Stephen who I met at art school all those years ago. Here I indulge my absolute love of drawing and am always thrilled by the unexpected images that result in sharing a piece of paper with him. It reinforces our trust in each other and the freedom in the marks we make together; there is little room for preciousness. This approach has also informed my own work, as it enables me to take a further step back somehow, to be more objective and to embrace the unpredictable. To view our collaborative paintings, please visit our website thekirins.com

Prizes

1986 – Drawing Prize. Wimbledon School of Art

2025 – Awarded The Society of Wood Engravers Prize at the RE Original Print Exhibition

Tutoring and demonstrations

I spent several lovely years tutoring several groups of adults in East Sussex in all media. It was so rewarding giving time to others so that they could progress with their own work, whether it was for their own fulfillment or preparing paintings for exhibition. I have also given many demonstrations to art groups in the South East and juried shows for the Weald of Sussex Art Group and the Society of Sussex Artists.

Currently my art practice is shared with caring for my elderly mother, where no day is the same. I envisage a time again however, where I can facilitate a workshop or two. I will update this site when that time comes. Stephen and I are also looking to build a programme in the future encompassing the collaborative approach and possibly wood carving and poetry writing.

Lorna’s prints and paintings are widely collected and are in private collections in Europe, the US, the Middle East and China and she is currently represented by London Contemporary Art.