Lorna Bent

Background: Lorna began painting at an early age, and at the age of 17 attended college to study Art & Design; from there she grew passionate for life drawing and developed her painting skills and loose style, before moving on to study photography. Taking a break Lorna came back to Art and started up again during Lockdown and hasn’t looked back.

Style and Influence: Lorna’s noire style embraces life paintings, landscapes and large murals, and she cites photographer Helmut Newton as a source of inspiration who predominantly photographs females in a voyeuristic manner. Her work has been previously exhibited in galleries across the UK including Leeds, Manchester & Liverpool and even into Europe with pieces in Venice during 2021.
Passion and Focus: Life drawing is Lorna’s main passion, and sits at the heart of her creativity as she continues to develop and expand upon her style and techniques. Looking back, she says that she has always appreciated and focussed upon the female art aspect and illustrating beauty through different shapes and forms. Even her earliest portfolios going back to her late teens show the beginnings of this, and early photography projects included female fashion. With a tendency to paint lone females, this is where the artist relates and expresses creativity, with connection to the stories and experiences behind the poses and images. For Lorna, it’s my way of sharing those inner feelings and thoughts.

Message: Lorna’s art is more of a the focus on what’s behind the body, the stories, feelings and situations that we all have to deal with. Lorna is often asked who are the subjects at the heart of the drawings? Sometimes they are based on real people, or commissioned by them, other times they are not. Lorna says whilst they are not always perfect, she looks to create women and tell a story that we can all connect with. Lorna says of her commissions ‘I think my art tends to open discussions that otherwise wouldn’t have happened, and often helps people celebrate themselves and to have something to look back on, that tells their story or experiences from a key stage or event in their lives. It can be super positive, though some can be quite dark and come from a place of vulnerability, fear or anxiety. It depends upon the subject and what they are trying to achieve’. Lorna adds that her work portrays a connection between the body and the mind, telling a story through the poses and elements surrounding them. Latin features heavily in the paintings, the sense of mystery and hidden depth within the language connects with her paintings. She wants the viewer to look deeper into the painting and it’s meaning.

Contact:
enquiries@lalunasoul.co.uk