Lyn Aylward
Lyn Aylward is a painter based in the Brecks in Norfolk, working chiefly in oil and in graphite and pencil. Her work is primarily concerned with the human figure and portraiture, exploring the way in which individuals portray their character through facial expression and posture. This interest has developed from her earlier work that dealt mainly with relationships, exploring the ties between family members, together with recollections of childhood and childhood experiences.
Lyn's subject matter is diverse. Her work ranges from historical portraits to wildlife, re-enactments of bygone eras as well as sleeping sitters. She enjoys working with a self given subject and then producing several paintings under that umbrella. Her recent work has included symbolism as well as traditional portraiture. Her paintings draw influence from a wide circle of artists, working in various media, but those perhaps exerting the strongest influence on Lyn's work are Paula Rego, Chuck Close and Frida Kahlo.
In July 2026 she won the Helen Herbert Portrait Award at the Holt Art Awards with her painting 'Blue Skies', a prize established that year in memory of the artist Helen Herbert. In the same awards she was shortlisted for the Sir John Hurt Art Award with 'The Girl I Left Behind Me', having been shortlisted for that prize previously in 2024. She won the Cass Art SAA Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025 award with her painting 'Sunday Morning'. She was a finalist in the London Graphic Centre Art Prize in 2023 and the Holt Festival Art Prize 2024, was shortlisted for the Holly Bush Emerging Women Painter Prize in 2022 and 2023, and was shortlisted for the Anteros Arts Foundation East Anglian Artists Development Prize in 2012.
Lyn appeared on Episode 6 of Sky Portrait Artist of the Year 2018 as a contestant, painting the actor Sope Dirisu, and in July 2012 she appeared on the BBC2 arts programme 'Show Me The Monet'. Her work has appeared in magazines and in books, most recently 'Portraits for NHS Heroes', published by Bloomsbury in 2020 after the artist Tom Croft set up an initiative for portrait artists to paint NHS keyworkers for free during the Covid pandemic. Her work has also appeared in the Green Pebble publications 'How Artists See People' and 'The Artist in our midst 2 - East Anglia'.
She is a member of Artworks, taking part in the group's annual September exhibition at Blackthorpe Barn in Rougham near Bury St Edmunds, and a member of Breckland Artists. Her 2026 exhibitions include Holt Art Projects at St Andrews Church in Holt and the Breckland Artists exhibition at Wymondham Arts Centre.
Artist Statement
This is a portrait of Mars Dilbert, someone whom I have admired for sometime for her vintage style and connected with online. I was particularly struck by the joy she exudes and wanted to portray her in this way. As I painted the image I found that I wanted the viewers eye to focus entirely on Mars and her colourful outfit, so I began to 'lose' the background as much as possible by painting it almost entirely in monochrome. The only small exceptions to this are the flowers which are painted in blue. In this way, Mars was thrust forward which is exactly what I wanted to achieve.
In addition to this, I was fascinated that Mars has raspberries placed on each of her fingers. I think that this adds to the playfulness of the image and celebrates Mars and her character in a joyful way.