Background
I grew up in Devon, then completed an undergraduate degree in English & American Literature at Warwick, then a postgraduate Diploma in Law at Exeter. My husband's work took us to live in the US and Norway before we settled in Ireland, and for 16 years now, I have had the privilege of being a full-time parent to our two wonderful autistic boys.
I began painting in 2022 as a way to process grief & childhood trauma (I have life-long c-PTSD). Since then, my work has sold world-wide and been selected for exhibition with (among others) The Royal Scottish Society of Painters In Watercolour at the RSA, The Women In Art Fair at the Mall Galleries and The Royal Society Of Portrait Painters (Inaugural Drawing Prize) at the University of Hull.
Having never picked up a paint brush before this, it has been a steep learning curve! My paintings are inevitably explorations of grief and trauma. Rarely planned, they are almost entirely instinctive representations of emotions, intertwined with our connection to the land. Fortunate to have the use of a base in the Wicklows, I run and walk in the hills, or wild swim as often as I can.
Whilst predominantly working in oils, I also love to play with charcoal, ink & occasionally watercolour – always experimenting. And I have a fascination for the idea that empty space and what's not said is loudest element of the composition.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with any enquiries about paintings for sale, or possible commissions. I am always happy to arrange payment plans.
There is a contact form on the home page and you can also find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Becca3Artach.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccathorneart/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/beccathorne.bsky.social
Exhibitions:
TALP Open online, 2023 (awarded a Highly Commended by the judges);
https://www.painters-online.co.uk/talp-open-competitions
The Dartmoor Collective Summer Exhibition 2023, Poltimore House, Devon.
https://dartmoorcollective.org/summer-exhibition-2023/
Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour 143rd Annual Exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy, 2024
February & March 2024: Solo exhibition in Edenderry Library, Co Offaly, thanks to Creative Places Edenderry and The Arts Council of Ireland.
Women In Art Fair, October 2024, at the Mall Galleries, London.
https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/exhibitions-events/women-art-fair-2024
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Inaugural Drawing Prize: Revealing The Human, October & November 2025. https://therp.co.uk/the-rp-inaugural-drawing-prize-2025-exhibition-revealing-the-human/
The Offaly Artists Exhibition, Esker Arts, Tullamore, November & December 2025
https://eskerarts.ie/events/offaly-artists-show-2025
Even in the Darkest Times Exhibition, Ranelagh Arts, December 5th 2025 - January 9th 2026
Awarded the Frances Bell Scholarship 2026:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUYV6mfDUi3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Some additional links:
https://newirishart.com/irish-artists/rebecca-thorne-artist.htm
https://dartmoorcollective.org/featured-content/becca-thorne/
https://monologging.org/winter-22-23toc/
https://medium.com/@TheArtistQuestionnaire/the-artist-questionnaire-6-becca-thorne-b67f40d235c0
https://soundcloud.com/aetherealmaterial
https://centmagazine.co.uk/explore-experience-learn-and-love-womens-cycles-in-art/
Becca Thorne
