My recent work explores a deep engagement with nature and the expressive possibilities of painting. Originally from Botswana and now based in East Devon, my practice is shaped by time in nature, studies in design, life drawing and psychotherapy. I am particularly drawn to the interplay between landscape, botanical elements, and intuitive mark-making, using gestural brushstrokes and layering to evoke a sense of movement and emotion.
At the core of my work is an interest in capturing the visceral response to place and subject. My process is guided by sensory experience, informed by daily walks through the surrounding countryside and Jurassic Coast. The shifting colours and atmospheres of the changing seasons provide a continual source of inspiration.
I primarily work with water-based media, building up layers of acrylic, ink, collage, pastels, and charcoal on canvas, paper or wood. Through drawing, scraping, washing, and sanding, I create surfaces rich in texture and history. My approach balances intuition with analysis, allowing compositions to emerge organically through a dynamic process of addition and subtraction.
Over time, my practice has become increasingly process-driven and abstract. A commitment to experimentation and play sustains my artistic voice, ensuring my work remains fluid and evolving.
Lisa Parkyn (b. 1975, South West Africa) is a painter whose practice is deeply informed by her early life on a remote farm in the Kalahari semi-desert, Botswana. Growing up in a family of painters, she developed an early affinity for art before pursuing studies and a career in graphic design in South Africa and London. While working in London, she completed a degree in movement psychotherapy, further enriching her understanding of expression and human form. After traveling internationally, she settled in Devon in 2008, where she gradually returned to painting—first through portraiture and landscapes, before evolving toward a more abstract and process-driven approach.
Parkyn has exhibited widely in national and regional open exhibitions, including the Society of Women Artists (2024, 2023, 2022), South West Academy Open (2024, 2023, 2022), and Figurative Art Now (2021). Her solo exhibitions include Resonance (Sou’ Sou’ West Contemporary Gallery, 2024), Layers & Light (Malthouse Gallery, Lyme Regis, 2021), and Delving Beneath (Kennaway House, Sidmouth, 2021).
Recent group exhibitions include the Chelsea Art Society 75th Annual Exhibition (2024), Artizan Women’s Open (2024), Esprit (Malthouse Gallery, 2024), Responses (Malthouse Gallery, 2023), Replenish (Malthouse Gallery, 2023), Pop Up 22 (Sou’ Sou’ West Contemporary Gallery, Bridport, 2022), Memory & Emotion (Artizan Gallery, 2022), Echoes (Lyme Regis, 2022), and Spring Selected Artists (Artizan South West Contemporary, Torquay, 2022).
Her work is held in private collections across the UK, as well as in Africa, Japan, and Mauritius. In addition to her painting practice, she has led numerous art workshops since 2020.
