Steve Lympany
2026
My hobbies are painting, and software development. I’m a retired engineer and live near Horsham in West Sussex, UK. I studied at Queen Mary College, London, Imperial College, and University of Californa, Berkeley.
I’m old.
I paint in oils (sometimes I do charcoal drawings) attempting representational art (i.e. things that are recognisable, in contrast to abstract art). If you would like to buy one of my pictures, let me know. Commissions and requests are welcome (see below). Email me directly: lympanyArt AT pm.me (Of course, replace " AT " with “@”).
I am a member (and currently the Secretary) of Horsham Artists (HA) which has 3 exhibitions each year in Horsham : Art Trail in June, Art Fair around October and the Christmas Market in Nov/Dec. HA also has an annual workshop Art For Wellbeing (28 Feb & 1 Mar 2026). Check EventBrite to book a place, with workshops by other artists from HA too.
Software Interests
I have developed apps for the web (browsers) and Windows using Dart and Flutter. Contact me if any are of interest (it would be free)…
- A Windows app BoardsUp! for planning temporary (and permanent) art exhibitions, especially those that hire temporary, movable walls/boards on which 2D is art is hung.
- a web app TATOE for managing Art Trails.
- a Windows app PicFramer2 to put a frame around an image of a picture of artwork, for upload to websites.
Art Interests
I strive to improve my painting - portraiture, still lifes, street scenes and landscapes, and experiment with new styles. I am not sure I have a style!
Commissions
No risk… apart from a small upfront fee to cover materials, you will not be committed to purchasing the picture - even if you simply don’t like it or just change your mind.
If you live near me (West Sussex, South East England), I prefer to take reference photos of your subject myself. But if you have a good photo you can email me, I might be able to work from that (but no guarantees).
I can do copies of pictures (here on my wesbite) that are marked as “unavailable”, if you wish.
Requests
Other than personal commissions, I’m happy to paint a request with no deposit, if it looks interesting e.g. request a still life of a black dog and roses, 50x50cm. Just email me. I would let you know if/when it’s done, and then you decide if you want to buy it. If not, I’ll just add it to my collection. It will have been fun anyway.
(Clearly I cannot do a request for a commission - I wouldn’t be able to sell it if you didn’t want it, and it wouldn’t be of interest to me to keep it, because it would be personal to you).
Materials and Resources
A brief note - I don’t get paid by any of my “plugs” below. They’re all my views from my own experience.
I use the following materials:
Gesso
- Gesso: Michael Harding non-absorbent gesso
- Grounds: Rublev Lead Oil ground; Wallace Seymour Professional Oil ground; Rublev Lead Alkyd ground (not so often now. Alkyds gunk up in the can if left too long)
Paints
Michael Harding and Rublev oil paints by Natural Pigments. I buy most from The Supreme Paint Company which has a lovely and informative website and good delivery 👍
informative videos on paints, mediums etc (by Natural Pigments)
Canvases
- ACM (aluminium composite) from eg here. Good prices. Use either a gesso or ground.
- stretched polyester from ACFCanvases. A bit different to use, but good. Excellent for detailed work. They don’t need to be gessoed, but I usually do.
- stretched linen and stretched cotton from eg Jackson’s. I don’t use cotton much these days.
Brushes
- Rosemary’s Brushes Who else?!
How to paint
Just a few places I’ve learned from and picked up ideas:
- https://www.youtube.com/user/DrawMixPaint
- https://www.eastoaksstudio.com/
- https://www.youtube.com/c/NicThurman
Some artists I like/admire/amazed by:
- Alex Venezia 👍
- Ruth Fitton
- Richard Schmid ❤️
- Mary Qian ❤️
- Joseph Zbukvic
- Kurt Jackson 😎
- Caroline Nelson
- David Leffel
Books
- Portrait and Figure Painting by Richard Schmid
- Alla Prima II Everything I Know About Painting by Richard Schmid
- The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques by Ralph Mayer
Workshops
I have been in contact with Workshops in Yorkshire. Very disappointingly I missed a workshop (a week long in Skipton) with Alex Venezia, but I do hope to get there one day. They look fantastic.