Flora and Landscapes in Gouache | Wendi Leigh

About the workshop

Day 1: Painting flora still life.

Wendi will demonstrate her contemporary take on the attributes of garden and native flora. Working from a vase of native flowers in the studio, students will experience new ideas of transposing movement and realism into an impressionistic artwork, working on their choice of either paper, canvas or board.

Day 2. Explore and be inspired by water reflections in an Australian landscape. 

Wendi will introduce the concepts and methodology of observational drawing. Students will be guided by her beginner-friendly approach in how to paint water reflections by using predominantly mass and tone. These can be developed further or kept as a lively study.

What will I learn?

• Wendi's hard-edged painting technique, which eliminates the need for unnecessary detail
• How to accentuates realistic colours and shapes and transpose this into a lively composition
• How to simplify a landscape so you can quickly capture your own interpretation of the subject
• How to portray reflections on a river, billabong or dam, working from the photos you bring along

Who is this workshop suitable for?

Suitable for all levels, from absolute beginners to intermediate.

What do I need to bring?

Landscape Photo References: For day two, bring along a few photos portraying reflections on water such as a river, billabong or dam.

Paper:
Sketching paper
A4 Visual Diary

Canvas, Board or Watercolour Paper:
Approximately 40x40cm - Two gessoed canvases, gessoed boards or watercolour paper 

Paint: 
Liquitex acrylic gouache or Matisse Flow Acrylic.
Bring what you have or use the following as a guide:Titanium white

• Black
• Cool and warm reds
• Ultramarine blue
• Cobalt Blue
• Ochre
• Yellow Light
• Orange
• Burnt Sienna
• Raw Sienna
• Hookers Green
• Optional – Neutral Greys, Phthalo Blue

Brushes:
Soft haired nylon brushes sizes 2-10

Other:

• Plastic plates/palette
• Apron
• 6B graphite pencil 
• Eraser
• Soft rags or paper towel

Optional: 1 small glass vase (optional)

What is provided?

• Handouts 
• Tea and coffee (please bring your own cup)
• A friendly, supportive and encouraging learning environment
• Connection to the Bienarté art community

About the Tutor

Based in Wollongong, Wendi Leigh is a re-emerging artist after a twelve-year break in which she designed and manufactured her own prints into women’s fashion. Her professional painting practice started in 1989, and in 2019 Wendi created the O.D.O.R.I art movement describing her style as ‘overt distortion of real imagery’. It has been likened to digital art, but in reality, is a personal derivation of simplifying detail to a minimum and using colour to suggest light and form. Colours are often subtle and yet at the same time strong in character -evoking a complexity of mood that is almost punctilious in its analysis of contemporary attitudes and life today. 

Her recent work has controlled detail and a warm confidence that brings in glowing colours in unusual combinations. The abstracted qualities of the paintings are always very strong both in line and tone and these new works are particularly striking. 

As a full-time artist, Wendi now devotes much of her time to experimentation with gouache on board and paper. “The gouache work utilises the flat opaqueness of the medium, likened to silk screening. The subjects include a narrative that records current life from urban sprawl, Australian flora and fauna, social interaction and household animals. These subjects hold the underlying stories of hope and joy in a time where anxiety and disillusion of worldwide unrest holds many people in negative frameworks”. Wendi describes her work as “bringing a certain peace to the viewer, which in turn renews a sense of wellbeing and happiness”. 

Wendi has won many prizes and exhibited in over 27 shows and is now represented in galleries in NSW, S.A. VIC and QLD. Wendi has built on her original study in a Diploma of Colour and Design, and in 2008 was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction from Wollongong University.