Creative Lynn Tierney put down her school books and picked up her paint brushes to make a colourful return to the art scene.
The passionate painter from Awali recently showcased her collection of animals, portraits and abstract work in a two-day solo exhibition at the Piece of Cake café in Budaiya.
Lynn, who was the head of the primary and reception classes at the Al Majd Noor School in Zinj, has been living in Bahrain for more than 30 years with her husband Brian, 61, manager of cover band The Boxtones who boast a big fan following in Bahrain.
She had set aside her love for art to raise her children Gary, now 36, and Gill, now 29, who are the band’s lead guitarist and drummer respectively as well as entertainment business entrepreneurs, based in Dubai.
With the kids away, Lynn now has time to concentrate on her passion for art. She said: “I have painted all my life, since I was very small, but when I moved to the Middle East I had to stop.
“At first I was a hairdresser in Saudi Arabia and had little free time to paint. Then, when I moved to Bahrain I thought I would be able to start again but I began working at a school and studied to gain the necessary qualifications, which led to my head of primary position.”
Just 18 months ago she decided to brush up on her passion for painting. “It’s something I love and I am so happy that I did. I am doing what I wanted to do all along. It’s a lovely feeling to go in my room and shut the door and just paint whatever I want.
“I had so many paintings that my bedroom was starting to look like my studio, full of colour. The exhibition was a great way to show my work and announce my return.”
At the exhibition, art lovers were able to converse with Lynn about her tropical canvases, contemporary bursts of colour, portraitures and numerous works of art, which were snapped up for between BD70 to BD130.
Lynn uses various colours and techniques to create textured paintings that give the illusion of movement. She said: “Everyone knows that my fashion staples are black and white but I think all my colours come out in my paintings. I love colour. I don’t have a painting style so I do a bit of everything. I like abstract but I also like painting cat eyes and, at times, black-and-white profiles.
“I paint from all that I see and from my experiences. It all started after watching my father, a wedding cake baker, make his beautiful creations.
“Sometimes I start and I don’t know where I am going with my painting and then all of a sudden I’m there. I like using butter scrapers or combs. My husband’s tool box has been raided many times because I use a lot of his files to file the paint down and then varnish it. I like the texture when it starts to feel like leather.”
Within the first day of her art going on display Lynn sold eight paintings and has been receiving rave reviews ever since.
She said: “I have had a lot of positive feedback from the exhibition. One interior designer really liked my work and a fashion designer asked me if I could paint her models wearing her designs. I have also been commissioned by one client to draw a painting for her lounge.”
For more information on Lynn’s work email kaizer53@hotmail.com
