Lionel Playford makes paintings about landscapes of the North of England, particularly about the North Pennines. His work has two main aspects: drawings made in the landscape and paintings and drawings made in the studio. In the outdoor work he is responding directly to the forms of the landscape and its rhythms, to the wind, clouds, light and rain. part of this direct physical engagement is his use of natural materials found under his feet such as peat, soil, shale and clay not to mention sheep droppings. In the studio the imagination is allowed to play with memories and drawings made out of doors. Landscapes evolve from hastily made marks or one landscape form develops from a previous painting. The resulting landscape paintings evoke the North Pennines rather than merely describe it and the pure abstract paintings that come out of these as a kind of bye-product also echo the colours as they change with the seasons and the weather.

Lionel exhibits across the North of England and has work in public and private collections in the UK and Europe. He regularly undertakes public and private commissions including ones for organisations such as AMEC Developments, BT and The National Trust. He has been artist in residence for 5 organisations including Natural England and is currently helping develop a major arts project for the North Pennines AONB to celebrate the internationally important peat landscapes of the English Pennines.