Discover Delmarva Arts: Lynne Lockhart

BERLIN, Md. — Artist Lynne Lockhart says that painting is a visual language, and for her much of that language is found in the wildlife around us. Originally from Dorchester County, Lockhart’s paintings capture animals, big and small, and the familiar landscapes they call home.

“I grew up on a farm, and we entertained ourselves. . . When I do horses and ponies, I never paint them with saddles and bridles and actually doing something a person wants them to do. I just prefer them being themselves, and that’s what I like,” Lockhart said.

She starts out her paintings with lots of sketching and making sure she understands the anatomy of her subject to a T. “I do a lot of sketching and both in pen and paint first just to see if I like the gesture of the animal, and I want to get the idea of that particular animal. . . Because without that, it’s like framing a house, and if you don’t frame your house proper it’s going to fall down.”

And even after years of perfecting her craft — Lockhart still treats every painting as an opportunity to grow. “That’s the seduction of painting. Where I am and where I want to be — there’s always a distance, so if I get a little better, where I want to be is still that much further away. So, it’s a mirage, I just keep chasing it.”

And when she hits a roadblock, she immerses herself in her garden in search of answers. “Sometimes it takes a lot of weeding.”

Lockhart says that often times, the biggest challenge is conveying something deeper than what you see on the surface. “I’m trying to put emotion or feeling into a two-dimensional surface with a visual language. You can do that with writing or music, and so, I’m trying to do it with paint. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s just a goat.”

Learn more about Lockhart’s work at https://www.lynnelockhart.com/