Residing and working in Porto, Portugal Lonny McLaughlin is an emerging artist and an explorer of conceptual painting. In 2021, McLaughlin began to move away from traditional representational painting towards a focus on individual expression.

He is known for his process-based paintings and monotypes which transform abstract concepts, such as the passage of time into visual form. McLaughlin’s approach to art is influenced by the historical tradition of painting as a practice for moral and spiritual reflection.

His works highlight the materiality of paint and the act of painting through abstraction and repetition. His distinctive methods involve mark making on glass, acrylic and other surfaces, a systematic layering process that allows the painting to be pulled from the surface onto paper or canvas.

The process begins with calligraphy brush or ink marks, then evolves through layers of brushed or brayer-rolled paint, peeling or scraping, leaving textured layers that allow for movement and depth. Each layer leaves a trace — veils of color that both obscure and reveal what came before. The process feels less about control and more about discovery, a conversation between intention and chance, producing a tactile, time-worn effect that becomes integral to the composition.

“Over time, I’ve come to see these layered surfaces as a metaphor of life itself — how experience builds upon what came before, sometimes obscuring it, sometimes revealing it in unexpected ways. Like aging, the surface gathers history, texture, and depth. Each mark, each imperfection, becomes part of the whole. The process is less about covering what was and more about allowing it to belong — to be seen as essential to what’s unfolding. In this way, the painting, much like a life, becomes a record of discovery, presence, and becoming.”