Lorraine Simonds

Through Lorraine Simonds’ watercolour, she seeks to capture the essence of our shared humanity and to communicate the beauty and struggles that unite us all. Her diverse background and experiences inform her art, which continues to evolve and inspire.

Lorraine Simonds’ passion for the visual arts began in her early childhood in Plymouth, England, where she was self-taught and read many books on drawing. Her father’s outings to the English Moorlands were a source of inspiration, and she spent hours capturing the landscape.

As a teenager, Lorraine honed her skills in portraiture using acrylic and oil mediums. Later, at Plymouth College of Art & Design, she formalized her ideas on contrast, focus, and composition in film photography. While pursuing her BA in Fine Art at the University of Leeds, she explored micro sculptures, photography, animation, and performance art, and built a strong foundation in the history of art and philosophy.

After graduation, Lorraine lived in Malaysia before moving to Squamish, in 2009. Here, her passion for the visual arts developed vocationally through her work in branding, photography, graphic and interior design as a hospitality professional, as well as through extensive volunteer work.

Although Lorraine had set aside her brush for some time, the pandemic prompted her to return to her artistic roots. Her post-pandemic work reflects her adult education, informal practice in counselling, and extensive travels to over 20 countries from 2017 to 2019, which have deepened her understanding of the human condition and the complexities that unite us all.