Monochromatic Sketches Inspire Emotive Colourful Landscapes in the Wayfinder Series.
- Charlotte Wensley
- Oct 1, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Sep 13
This body of work saw me return to my monochrome sketchbook drawings of plants and foliage for fresh inspiration. My aim was to re-interpret these black and white mixed media drawings and transform them into new references to the natural world in my abstract landscape work.
Adding another dimension to the aesthetic of my paintings in the form of organic shapes was made possible by revisiting prints, drawings and paintings of tangled undergrowth, trees, ponds and water plants and a wide variety of leaf shapes. I had experimented with new printmaking techniques in my sketchbook and this inspired me to explore the possibilities of using printed impressions, taken from my photographs, in the early layers of the work.
I wanted to enhance the sense of place within the final paintings, and deepen the visual and emotional connection to the environment. Much of this textured print work is no longer visible in the final images, but it guided the making of each work.
The symbolism of the visual elements in these paintings became stronger and more embedded as the series progressed. The trees came to represent my search for personal truth and understanding of self, the scattered leaves speak to transience and fragility and the vessel shapes, my family as they journey with me through memories of landscape and the expanding awareness of self.
There are 18 paintings in this collection.
| Anchorage
This painting is a soft and quiet visual meditation on the feeling of coming home to a place of belonging. References to the land, anchored by the sky above and water in the foreground have come together in a distillation of landscape in its essential forms. It welcomes you to a place of rest and familiarity, somewhere the mind is released from the confines of structure and the spirit is free to wander.
Mixed Media on Board
30cm x 30cm
Framed in Australian Oak
Original - SOLD
| Becalmed
Soft layers and muted tones evoke the feeling of hushed calm as the day wends towards evening and the sky begins to darken. Becalmed captures the moment of settling, as quiet stillness descends when the energy of the day dissipates. A moment suspended, where time, tide, and thought seem to hold their breath and restoration and re-balancing of the self can begin.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
| Cascade
The rhythm I see in the natural world comes alive in this painting with layers of colour and form tumbling across the surface like water finding it's path, fluid through a wild landscape. This sense of rushing movement is a metaphor for the passing of time.
The darkened sky creates a feeling of drama and a heightened sense of urgency to grasp the concept of transience and consciously observe the passing of life. The visual movement of shapes and contrasting colours vibrate with an energy that speaks to vitality and complexity.
Mixed Media on Board
90cm x 90cm
Framed in Australian Oak
Original - SOLD
| Cloudless
This abstraction of a warm verdant landscape bathed in light, is reminiscent of the rolling hills of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, where I settled when I emigrated to Australia many years ago. I have a strong affinity with places like this, they offer a sense of connectedness to nature and the opportunity to feel stillness and observe the rhythms of the earth and the subtle shifts in seasons. These landscapes seem to me to be the perfect distillation of the quiet strength of nature and of its beauty. In this piece, colour and shape have come together to evoke the calm of a summer evening sky beneath which the rhythm of the earth slows and a clarity emerges in the fading light.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original painting is currently available at Underart Gallery.
| Drifting
This painting became a contemplative exploration of flow and transition, both visually but also emotionally. An awareness surfaced whilst making this work that a sense of surrender is necessary in order to access our inner landscapes of thought and reflection, a place where we can truly begin to understand ourselves. To embrace moments of calm, introspection and connection with our subconscious self is to accept that sometimes it's necessary to let go and allow ourselves to drift through space and time as if carried by waves of unseen forces to destinations unknown, embracing learnings along the way.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
| Hidden Valley
This painting invites you into a secluded landscape; a place where light, shadow and form quietly unfold, gradually unveiling secret layers of history. Saturated hues evoke memories of lush terrain and hidden billabongs, reminding me of a sanctuary held by the hills. The sense of discovery within this painting reminds me that there is more treasure in this world than we sometimes think and though it can feel like a quest to find it, it's always worth the journey to discover it.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original painting is currently available at Underart Gallery.
| Meeting Place
This piece explores the quiet dialogue between land and sea, mirroring the inner self and the external self that we offer to the world. Layers of texture and soft flowing shapes trace the ebb and flow of waves, the shifting patterns of sand, and the gentle interplay of light and shade. There is a strong sense of personal presence in this painting. I have a feeling of standing at the edge of time, sensing the rhythm of the tide and the transient beauty of the shoreline. There is both vital energy and a air of calm in this meeting place. This piece invites you to contemplate on the ever-changing, yet enduring, connection between earth and water, as they represent the internal and external self.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original painting is currently available at Nissarana Galleries.
| Mountain Secrets
Mountains have always carried a deep resonance for me—a living metaphor for steadfastness, longevity, and quiet stability. They are keepers of ancient stories and silent secrets, layered over time to form powerful narratives about endurance, resilience, and strength. This little painting is an intimate homage to those qualities, capturing the quiet flourishing that happens in their shadow, reflecting the human experience of adapting to change and challenge.
Mixed Media on Board
30cm x 30cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original is currently available at Stevens Street Gallery.
| Nightfall
Nightfall references the quiet beauty of the in-between, where endings and beginnings softly intertwine, when the world is draped in a quiet hush and where soft shadows give way to deep indigos that blur the edges of the day. As fading light lingers on the horizon, I feel the promise that the sun will rise again tomorrow even as the moon begins to appear.
Mixed Media on Board
30cm x 30cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original is currently available at Stevens Street Gallery.
| Passage
Passage invites you to take a visual journey through layers of detail, colour and flowing forms which describe the feeling of travelling towards a bright and positive horizon. This painting holds space for reflection, honoring the vulnerability of moving forward and acting as a reminder that every transition, no matter how uncertain carries with it the promise of progress and renewal.
Mixed media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original painting is currently available at Underart Gallery.
| Retreat
Retreat is a quiet landscape where the noise of the world falls away. Soft, layered hues allow us to wander through distant hills to the warm embrace of sky, inviting a deep exhale. I find stillness and solace in places where the spirit can rest and the heart can settle into it's own quiet rhythm once again. This painting is a reminder that sometimes the truest journeys are the ones where we retreat from the world and find a way back to ourselves.
Mixed Media on Board
30cm x 30cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original is currently available at Stevens Street Gallery.
| Sanctuary
Sanctuary was inspired by the ancient landscapes of Far North Queensland - which to me feels like the land that time forgot. The rainforests are shrouded in mystery and offer a tangible connection to nature that is unlike any other I have experienced. They are a visual refuge of green, where the layers of form are infinite. These places are truly a balm for the soul and this painting invites you to into my sanctuary, to breathe deeply, rest and reconnect with the gentle and soothing vibration of the earth.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original painting is currently available at Underart Gallery.
| Sheltered
This piece is was inspired by the gentle rolling landscapes of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, where seasonal ponds and dams abound with summer flowering Blue Lotus. The soft, layered hues in this painting combines with the flowing shapes create a cocoon-like space, evoking the feeling of being nurtured by nature amid life’s turbulence. There’s a calm intimacy in its composition — a reminder of the quiet places, both within and around us, where we can retreat, live simply and enjoy the beauty in nature.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
Original - SOLD
| The Eyrie
This painting was inspired by the awareness that the need for experiential perspective is an essential part of the human condition. The Eyrie invites you to rise above the noise and chatter to a place where finding stillness is possible and from this vantage point, gain clarity and see genuine truth. The layered sweeping forms in the composition lead you to a higher place of solitude, in the form of the blue tree, which, whilst not fully realised as a visual element in the painting, offers further promise to those of us who wish to gain absolute clarity about our life experiences.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original painting is currently available at Nissarana Galleries.
| The Gift
This small but beautiful painting was inspired by time spent with people I love most in the world. You let them go and when they return, however briefly, their presence feels like the truest of all gifts, a most precious thing to be treasured and held close. It is a reflection on the familial bonds that ground our existence in reality.
Mixed Media on Board
30cm x 30cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original is currently available at Stevens Street Gallery.
| The Grasshopper
This soft landscape has a subtle retro feel, with its muted tones and nostalgic light reminiscent of faded photographs. The gentle interplay of colour and form creates a dreamlike sense of place; timeless, tender, and quietly evocative of good things from times past. It’s a painting that has a sense familiarity and that holds space for reflection on childhood summer days spent roaming English country lanes.
Mixed Media on Board
30cm x 30cm
Framed in Australian Oak
The original is currently available at Stevens Street Gallery.
| Unhindered
Unhindered is a vibrant, expressive painting inspired by the feeling of emotional release that being enveloped in nature brings. Far North Queensland with its lush rainforests, strange and surreal plants, hanging vines and vibrant blooms invites a surrender of the soul and a reciprocal giving of oneself to nature. To me, the light and shade in the forest echoes the human experience of shifting energy and change which should always be approached and honoured with wonder and curiosity.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
Original - SOLD
| Unearthed
Unearthed feels like a quiet discovery — a layering of textures and colours that suggest something hidden rising to the surface. This painting contemplates the quiet understanding of emotions that lie dormant beneath the surface of the everyday, which will rise and be uncovered when the moment is right. This piece became a meditation on memory, time, and the hidden forces that shape us, and invites you to consider what, within yourself, is still waiting to be uncovered.
Mixed Media on Board
30cm x 30cm
Framed in Australian Oak
| Wayfinder
This is an intuitive piece that began with the foliage elements as they represent trust in finding new directions. With every additional layer I felt a sense of navigating a shifting inner landscape and whilst registering uncertainty there was a strong feeling of guidance and quiet reassurance that my inner compass would take me in the right direction in that present moment. Finding new ways forward presents challenges, but the rewards are great when the direction becomes clear.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
Original - SOLD
| Whispers
This piece is a soft and gentle visual conversation with elements of landscape that touches intentionally on notions of fragility and impermanence. which are woven into every layer of our human experience. We build lives, identities, and relationships knowing—whether consciously or not—that they are transient, will shift and change, like a whisper in the wind. To embrace fragility is to recognise our humanness; to accept impermanence is to discover a quiet freedom in letting go.
Mixed Media on Board
60cm x 60cm
Framed in Australian Oak
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