Exhibition Catalogue
Paintings on this page are available for sale online now the exhibition has closed
Limited edition prints are available of four of these paintings, as indicated
For reviews and articles about this exhibition please go here
Limited edition prints are available of four of these paintings, as indicated
For reviews and articles about this exhibition please go here
Alongside the challenges 2020 brought to the world, Wendy Leach found beauty and hope in painting the splendid pohutukawa trees along Mangawhai’s ocean beach. She found strength in the dramatic tree forms, energy in the swirling coastal skies and inspiration in the changing light.
Wendy is a Mangawhai-based artist who has had 21 solo exhibitions over her career including an exhibition of Jordanian landscapes in Amman in 2004. “I was originally very well-known for my landscape paintings but in 2005 I realised I wasn’t challenging myself, so I stopped painting landscapes and decided to undertake study for a Master of Fine Arts degree. It was a big step into the unknown and really was a leap of faith. Keeping an open mind and the desire to push my boundaries I went on an adventure into abstract painting. For an artist who could only paint realistically, developing the ability to work in the abstract has been one of my best achievements. But I do embrace the cyclical nature of life and this year I have come a full circle and found I wanted to paint landscapes again, and I am loving it. Hence the exhibition title ‘Full Circle’ is so appropriate”.
Wendy says in 2019 she was exploring “abstract imagery around elements of land and sea, coastal estuaries, tidal flow and rivers”. This has led her to look at the point where the land and the sea meet - the ‘edge’ - and at that edge there are mighty pohutukawa trees.
Wendy has always been drawn to the trees on Mangawhai beach and has painted them in the past. These pohutukawa on the coastline seemed like the logical place to start painting and Wendy was interested to see where this would take her. “The amazing thing is it hasn’t led me anywhere else; I am enjoying this so much I have focused on the strong dramatic forms of the trees with the changing light and the dramatic skies on the same stretch of beach and that has formed the whole exhibition”.
The deliberate break from landscape has had a very positive effect, and Wendy feels her new landscape paintings are more dynamic and accomplished than her earlier landscapes. These paintings are not only about trees. Wendy explores complementary opposites in nature – like shadow and light, rest and movement, turbulence and calm, negative and positive, north and south, warm and cool.
If you are expecting lots of red pohutukawa flowers, Wendy says you’ll be disappointed. She has deliberately featured winter trees. The paintings show the drama and majesty of the trees and the changeable nature of the sky and the light.
Wendy is a Mangawhai-based artist who has had 21 solo exhibitions over her career including an exhibition of Jordanian landscapes in Amman in 2004. “I was originally very well-known for my landscape paintings but in 2005 I realised I wasn’t challenging myself, so I stopped painting landscapes and decided to undertake study for a Master of Fine Arts degree. It was a big step into the unknown and really was a leap of faith. Keeping an open mind and the desire to push my boundaries I went on an adventure into abstract painting. For an artist who could only paint realistically, developing the ability to work in the abstract has been one of my best achievements. But I do embrace the cyclical nature of life and this year I have come a full circle and found I wanted to paint landscapes again, and I am loving it. Hence the exhibition title ‘Full Circle’ is so appropriate”.
Wendy says in 2019 she was exploring “abstract imagery around elements of land and sea, coastal estuaries, tidal flow and rivers”. This has led her to look at the point where the land and the sea meet - the ‘edge’ - and at that edge there are mighty pohutukawa trees.
Wendy has always been drawn to the trees on Mangawhai beach and has painted them in the past. These pohutukawa on the coastline seemed like the logical place to start painting and Wendy was interested to see where this would take her. “The amazing thing is it hasn’t led me anywhere else; I am enjoying this so much I have focused on the strong dramatic forms of the trees with the changing light and the dramatic skies on the same stretch of beach and that has formed the whole exhibition”.
The deliberate break from landscape has had a very positive effect, and Wendy feels her new landscape paintings are more dynamic and accomplished than her earlier landscapes. These paintings are not only about trees. Wendy explores complementary opposites in nature – like shadow and light, rest and movement, turbulence and calm, negative and positive, north and south, warm and cool.
If you are expecting lots of red pohutukawa flowers, Wendy says you’ll be disappointed. She has deliberately featured winter trees. The paintings show the drama and majesty of the trees and the changeable nature of the sky and the light.
'MANGAWHAI POHUTUKAWA' 760 X 570mm, oil paint on gessoed Fabriano paper, white frame, $2,850
To inquire or purchase contact Wendy
Available as a limited edition print, 600 x 450mm, $495. Edition of 25.
To inquire or purchase contact Wendy
Available as a limited edition print, 600 x 450mm, $495. Edition of 25.
'MONOCHROME 1' 1000 X 750mm, oil paint on stretched canvas, $3,850 SOLD
Available as a limited edition print, 600 x 450mm, $495. Edition of 25
Available as a limited edition print, 600 x 450mm, $495. Edition of 25
'STANDING PROUD' 900 X 1200mm, oil paint on stretched canvas, $4,500 SOLD
Available as a limited edition print, 450 x 600mm, $495. Edition of 25
Available as a limited edition print, 450 x 600mm, $495. Edition of 25
'MONOCHROME 2' 1000 X 750mm, oil paint on stretched canvas, $3,850 SOLD
'COASTAL TABLEAU' 660 x 1830mm, oil paint on stretched canvas, $4,950 SOLD
'BLUE MANGAWHAI SKY' 600 X 900mm, oil paint on stretched canvas, $2,850 SOLD
'UNDER STORMY SKIES' 1000 X 750mm, oil paint on stretched canvas, $3,850 SOLD
Available as a limited edition print, 600 x 450mm, $495. Edition of 25
Available as a limited edition print, 600 x 450mm, $495. Edition of 25
'STORMY LIGHT' 750 X 1000mm, oil paint on stretched canvas, $3,850 SOLD
Gallery catalogue
Full Circle opens 6pm, 29 January, Mangawhai Artists Gallery
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