Lawsons interest is in solving the difficulties of using recognisable imagery whilst having the freedom of abstraction, escaping the restrictions of narrative yet still using its symbols. The painting process she employs allows her to maintain both expression and emotion whilst still retaining representational images. A combination of techniques are used; scoring the surface, cutting into the thick layers of pigment with a knife, drawing into it in an almost primitive way while the paint and pigments are a sophisticated, crafted surface worked on over a long time.