Lorcan Vallely - Artist of the Month, March 2022

Lorcan Vallely was born in 1979, into an artistic and musical family. His father was the acclaimed painter John B. Vallely. Lorcan attended a foundation course in Art & Design at Belfast College of Art, and went on to study Fine Art at Bath School of Art & Design, before undertaking a Post Graduate Diploma in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art in 2004.

He has exhibited his work widely, both nationally and internationally. Now residing in Ireland, Lorcan has recently been working primarily in charcoal on canvas, also utilising oil, acrylic and print – often combining these media. He uses the hands on approach that charcoal provides to build layers of tone and depth on the canvas.

‘Colin Morgan’ is part of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland collection. Having been introduced to the actor Colin Morgan through a collaborative project, Lorcan visited him backstage at the National Theatre in London and took some sketches and photographs. The final portrait was then completed in the artist’s studio. The piece was completed in 2018 and was selected for exhibition at the 2018 RHA Annual Exhibition in Dublin.

Further information about Lorcan and his work can be found at www.lorcanvallely.com