After her first trip to Europe in 1979, she became more interested in what she considered her heritage as a portrait painter of past masters such as Velasquez, quoting from their work in her own way.
[2] Donoghue largely chose her subjects, many of them her friends, resulting in a body of work which explored the cultural community in Toronto and beyond.
[3] Donoghue's work was often large in scale, with bright colour applied directly onto the canvas[3] in thin layers of paint so that they have a translucent effect.
[5] Noteworthy were her shows in 1976, a series of male nudes for exhibit in Cobourg refused by the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston but then shown at 'A' Space in Toronto,[6] her show in 1984 at Mount Saint Vincent Art Gallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia titled The Cult of Personality: Portraits by Lynn Donoghue, and Lynn Donoghue: The Last Supper, a posthumous show held in 2005 at MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, Ontario.
A silent auction dedicated to her memory of 75 works by artists across Canada was held posthumously at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto.