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Raphaël Lonné was born to a poor family of farm labourers and as a child showed no interest in art. He could not remember ever picking up a pencil to draw. In 1946 Lonné started work as a postman and around this time he developed an interest in the spirit world. After attending a séance, he felt compelled to draw under the influence of spirit-guides. Over the years this need to draw would suddenly stop when his spirit-guide left, and then re-emerge when the guide reappeared. Initially Lonné drew with pencils, but as he became more skilful he worked with pen and ink. To begin a drawing Lonné would sit still and focus, allowing the spirit guide to direct his hand. He remembered nothing during these drawing sessions: 'I set off a bit mechanically,'he explained, 'I make some arabesques, I jolly it up, without necessarily having any preconceived idea'. Initially he refused to sell any drawings because they were the work of the spirit-guide.

Untitled 1977
Pen, ink and watercolour on paper
Musgrave Kinley Outsider Collection
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