Lorna Scheepers

Lorna Scheepers (b.1967) is a South African-born contemporary artist whose emotive paintings explore the organic connection between nature and the human spirit.
She began her artistic journey at age 29, completing her Visual Communication education at the Open Window Art Academy in Pretoria in 1999. Though trained in a formal setting, it wasn't until her relocation to the USA in 2015 that she embraced art as a fulltime career.
Lorna's paintings merge expressionism with botanical forms, creating compositions that are dynamic, meditative, and rich in color. Her subject and palettes serve as a metaphor for life's seasons and the resilience of both nature and the human spirit, reflecting moments of stillness and introspection to the exuberance of growth and renewal.
Influenced by her dual citizenship between South Africa and the USA, her work is informed by the richness of living between two worlds, exploring themes of belonging, and the delicate coexistence of humanity and the environment. 
Now based in Somerset West, Lorna continues to develop her practice, gaining attention from collectors across Europe, Africa, and the USA.

Selected Exhibitions
2025
Group exhibition - Connect through Colour, The Artists Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2024
Group exhibition - Just A Little Slice, Please, RK Contemporary, Riebeek Kasteel, South Africa

2023
Group Exhibition - Tales From The Shore, Stilbaai Galery, Stilbaai, South Africa
Group Exhibition - FYNbos, Stilbaai Galery, Stilbaai, South Africa

2019 
Group Exhibition - More is more, D|A|C, Miami, FL, USA

2018 
Group Exhibition - The Water Between Us, D|A|C, Art Basel Miami Art week, Miami, USA

2017
Group Exhibition - The Emergent Garden; The Art of Spring, Gallery 1070, Chicago, USA

COLLECTIONS 
Works held in private collections in the United States, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Angola and throughout South Africa. 
Selected Commissions: 
Centre for Prospective Students, Stellenbosch University, South Africa iThemba Labs, Cape Town, South Africa
Somerset West Primary School, Somerset West, South Africa 
Glenstantia Primary School, Pretoria, South Africa 
Caged, artwork used on CD Cover - Trip, IS. 
CD Cover for Worcester School of the Blind Choir, South Africa. 

PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS 
2019 - Create Magazine, edition 16 - August 2019, (Selected by curator Nina Blumberg, Director: Samuels Creative, NY) 
2020 - JaamZin Creative, issue 10, vol 3 - October 2020 
2021 - Interview – CultureVolt, USA (September 2021)

Which artists, books or music have inspired your work?
Influences such as Odilon Redon, Joseph Stella, Paul Gauguin, Gustav Klimt and David Hockney have shaped my painterly language, encouraging me to embrace both emotion and experimentation. 
Each of them embodies a rich interplay of color, symbolism, emotional expression, nature, and innovation, creating distinctive yet interconnected artistic legacies.

I always listen to music when I paint. In my studio I have an old-school CD player, an iPod with music from 10 years ago and of course Spotify. Favourite studio music can include anything .

Which South African deceased artist do you most admire and why?
JH Pierneef
The first time I saw his station panels, I almost fell to my knees. It were so overwhelmingly beautiful.
I love his ability to convey the beauty and complexity of the landscape through his use of light and colour in his paintings.

If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
It would be a toss-up between Meekness by Eustache Le Sueur and Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. 
Although neither reflect my personal style, both pieces posses a quiet emotional intensity that I find deeply moving.
A close alternative would be Ophelia by Odilon Redon or The Virgin by Joseph Stella

Pick three artists who you would be honored to exhibit with – and why
Walter Meyer  - He paints ordinary landscapes with a contemplative stillness and captures a quiet emotional tone that I greatly admire.
Per Adolfsen – There is a poetic minimalism to Per Adolfsen’s work. His quiet, dream-like landscape drawings often depict ordinary natural places with minimal composition, unusual colour, and a slightly melancholic or romantic mood.
Mamma Anderson - Her paintings beautifully combine drawing, narrative landscape and emotional atmosphere.

How did you get started? Did you always want to be an artist?
No, I really wanted to be an architect, but life had other plans. 
I eventually went to study art at the age of 29, completing my Visual Communication education at the Open Window Institute in Pretoria in 1999. Though trained in a formal setting, it wasn't until I relocated to the United States in 2015 that I embraced art as a full-time career.

What are some of the key themes you explore in your work?
My work revolves around themes of memory, nature and the relationship between the natural world and the human spirit, into a world where the emotional and the environmental gently intersect. 

What should people know about your art that they can’t tell from looking at it?
My art is deeply personal, often reflecting my own life’s journey and the landscapes that shaped my artistic experiences. My paintings are expressive responses to memory and place – something that is often mirrored in the titles that accompany them.
 
What are the most essential items in your studio and why?
Besides the obvious art materials, music is essential. I struggle to be creative without it, as it helps shape and infuse the emotional atmosphere in which I paint.

Tell us more about your creative process.
My art journey has taken me through various mediums and styles, with a recent exploration into intuitive landscape painting in acrylic and charcoal. I am continually drawn to the language of landscape and organic forms.
My work is mostly representational, but often infused with elements of abstraction and imagined aspects of the environment. 
I approach the canvas with openness and it’s not unusual for me to shift directions entirely or to begin anew. Sometimes I sketch a loose outline or reference photographs I’ve taken, but the final image is always the result of layered exploration and discovery. 

Do you believe an artist should use their platform to influence society? Why?
It is inevitable that an artist’s personal beliefs will translate into their artwork, whether  deliberately or subconsciously. As an individual and as an artist I have never felt the need to proselytize through my work.

Do you have a favourite or most meaningful work?
I think any painting I have made with the likeness of my son or daughter will always be special to me. 

What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date? 
Becoming a full-time artist at the age of 50.

What are your aspirations for the future?
I want to create and paint until my last breath. I feel I have started so late in life there is still so much I want to explore and create. 
Hopefully this will translate into a meaningful contribution to South African art and a good fulfilling career.