Leeanda’s paintings are influenced mostly by the emotions conjured by the land and sea. Having grown up in Natal, South Africa, and living in France and now Cornwall, she is inspired by the change in colour the weather and light levels have on spaces in nature.

Whilst living in France, she had an ‘Atelier’ training under the Russian artist, Mikhail Dorokhov. He believed she was talented and mentored her development over eight years. She will always be grateful for this privilege.

Leeanda tries to capture movement and emotions that open spaces in nature stir in us. We all respond differently, it’s the stimulation of emotive thought or reaction that matters.

She works mostly in oils, pastels and cold wax medium which allows for a rich, textured and at times translucent areas in paintings. She enjoys incising lines, scraping back layers and adding texture with marble dust, graphite and powdered pigments. This creates depth and history to paintings as previous layers re-emerge.

Her paintings, whether small or large, develop form whilst she’s working. She starts with an idea, a memory, an object or a photo and the final result may bear little resemblance to the starting point.