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Wendy Hope is a Sydney based artist whose full time professional career began in 1995. She has since cemented her reputation for producing focused, highly resolved work with specialised technical skill, earning her widespread acclaim as an innovative 'colourist'.
Hope completed 6 years of formal training in drawing and painting at Meadowbank and St. George Tafe Colleges. In 2008 she graduated in painting from COFA ( College of Fine Arts.) She has been exhibiting in Private Galleries and art shows throughout Sydney and regional country areas during this time. Hope has attended numerous workshops with well known artists through Charles Sturt University, Willoughby Art Centre, National Art School and Boyd Centre at Bundanon to name a few.
Her work represents a spontaneous, colourful and creative surface consisting of acrylic transparent washes, collage and line. Hope's paintings are neither allegorical or symbolic. Nothing remains the same until the work is finished. Her works are timeless mysteries, ever moving and charged with emotional energy.
Colour, texture and line are features of my work. I rely on layers of strong shapes, transparent washes of acrylic paint, mixed media and line to create a feeling of depth and space. My abstract paintings are based on the Australian Landscape. I try to look for meaning in the landscape; to challenge what I see and to make judgement on how I wish to interpret what I see. I am looking for the spirituality, energy and essence that evoked my emotions. I want this in my work. I have spent years “pushing and pulling” paint. I am still in awe of the sudden burst of creative energy and wonder why it occurs and from where it has come. I have to move with it when it occurs and accept the work. The work is exciting and the pulse is strong. That is enough.
My new studio space is peaceful and harmonious. I have no set time to paint- the creative cycle can occur anytime. I record nature’s details with a camera, quick watercolour sketches or drawings and this increases my ability to see lines shapes and patterns in the landscape. I then make simple diagrams of my sketches. I use these as a springboard for larger works. I love the unpredictable outcomes of this process. I have no end result in mind. The paintings show me where to go.I find trial and error and practice are the way to go but creating is an inherent process. My journey has been one of research, study and experience. This has been followed by desire, passion and this innate ability to create. I have always looked at and learned from the masters but I enjoy creating my own original paintings that stand on their own strength.
Some aspects of my work is intuitive and other times I am problem solving and drawing on knowledge gained over a long period of time . I have no preset formulas for painting as there are many unpredictable elements that occur. I work from my feelings and meet the market at my own level, working to find an audience for my work, not working for an audience. I usually work in a series. In my studio, I arrange my current works so I can view their progress without distraction. I absorb the atmosphere and enjoy the peace of the space. I like to throw the viewer into this space and give them a different view. I want them to feel the spirituality and wonder as I work. I would like to think that my works are timeless mysteries, ever moving and charged with emotional energy.
