Lonny Doherty finds inspiration in the vast landscapes of Ontario and beyond. His paintings celebrate contrast, capturing light bursting through trees or bouncing off a wave. Now, his paintings are available as custom fabrics on WeaveUp. Read on to learn more about our latest Featured Artist, Lonny Doherty!

Where do you live?

I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Does where you live influence your art?

Living at a latitude with four distinct seasons has been very inspiring to me over the years. The spring greens, summer lushness, vibrant autumn colour and fresh white snow provide constant inspiration and a sense of renewal.

What else inspires your creativity?

I am inspired by nature. There is an inner primordial desire to be close to nature and being able to share the shapes, colours and overall sense of nature with more and more people is endlessly satisfying.

Lonny in his Toronto studio

Tell us about your creative process.

It always starts with nature, the boots-on-the-ground exploration of the different landscapes of Ontario or wherever I happen to be. Plein air sketches, photography and notes come back to the studio to try to re-create the feeling that I had in my heart when I was inspired by a particular view. My job is to instill that feeling in the hearts of others through paint and canvas.

The way you use colour to create bright sunny spots in your works is incredible. How long did it take you to master that technique?

This technique comes from paying very close attention to relative values and the use of warm and cool colours. I’m not sure if I have mastered it but I’ve been working on it for nearly 30 years.

Sundown, Collingwood by Lonny Doherty

Tell us about your lighting collection with Barbican.

It seems only fitting that images inspired by light should be featured on the shades of light fixtures where they are actually lit from behind. Light becomes light. Full circle. The team at Barbican are now armed with this new tool to help their clients achieve their goals by using creative, unique and beautiful art pieces as light fixtures in their spaces as well as bringing nature and the outdoors in.

What are the creative tools you cannot live without?

As a visual artist my most important tools are first and foremost my eyes. Beyond that my plein air paint box and digital camera are essential and, of course, a vast array of different sizes and styles of paint brushes.

Apparitions by Lonny Doherty

How has the WeaveUp Customizer helped to turn your paintings into customizable surface prints?

I am over-the-moon thrilled with the Customizer technology. It takes the artwork to another dimension. A lovely but reasonably discernible image gets abstracted into a stunning array of organic shapes and colours with a myriad of “happy accidents” happening where the individual images mirror and reflect. It opens up another world of uses and expands my capacity for bringing the essence of nature into the everyday lives of many.

Visit Lonny’s website here to learn more about his art, lighting collections, and view his most recent works. Lonny will be showing new work as part of the artist collective Untamed Things in Toronto, September 8-19. You can also find Lonny on Facebook. 

Shop Lonny Doherty’s WeaveUp designs here.