Lorna Sealy Nichols

I enjoyed art at school but it did not feature in my working life and it was not until I retired that I began to paint. My interest in people and trying to communicate something of them was heightened by my husband’s friendship with a Plymouth artist, Robert Lenkiewicz, and the many visits we made to his studio and home. As a result, portraiture and figurative subjects compel me to draw and paint.

The problem was, how to start? Spending a bit of time with some of Lenkiewicz’s pupils, beginning to understand the colourist’s approach, various trips to the National Gallery escorted by one of Lenkiewicz’s primary pupils, Nahem Shoa, which led to an understanding of what truly great painting is and, again, how the colourist approach not only enhances your awareness of the environment but gives a sense of direction and objectives in painting.

With no formal art education, initially I found things were a bit of a muddle and I tried various approaches in a confused sort of way but, latterly, I have settled on life and portraiture using a fairly classical approach. This has taken me to the point where I felt able to submit a portrait to the BP Annual Portrait Competition. It wasn’t a winner but I had some encouraging comments about it. Now I feel I have a pathway that will lead me on for many years. At present, I find that although portrait work is not so fashionable in the world of art, I do receive commissions from people who want painted records of their family.