Artist Wanda Stafford with two of four of her paintings, one watercolour framed and Acrylic on canvas.
2019 entries in the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
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About the ArtistWanda Stafford studied Bachelor of Creative Arts at Wollongong University majoring Painting, Poetry and Writing over 30 years ago.
Her artworks tell the stories of her environment, influenced by the colours, noises and life surrounding her home and studio in the residence town of the picturesque Bundeena - a small hamlet in the Royal National Park, Sydney N.S.W. Her process is also influenced by her materials - working across a diverse choice of media, including, firstly as mentioned watercolour, which has expanded into watercolour ground, watercolour pen markers and iridescent watercolour medium which is used on 100% cotton and Yupo paper also stretched watercolour canvas. Then acrylic, using high flow acrylic, structure acrylic, Ironlak Oozie Paint Mops and acrylic inks which then has expanded Wanda to use resin, sands, and crackle medium. All of these mediums has given the artist an ability to successfully build background which give her works the colour, depth and texture to furthermore create from. She describes her art as “unbound, organic and bold” and is reflected in her primary medium which is watercolour - a medium she enjoys due to its fluidity and versatility and her subjects are diverse however over the past 5 years Wanda has grown to be renown for her Australian Wildlife, Ocean Turtles and Nudes. Wanda has exhibited widely over her 30yr+ career, inclusive of: The Sydney Royal Easter Show 2019 with in seperate categories 4 paintings hung. The Sydney Royal Easter Show 2016 3rd Prize in Watercolours.Member of the Bundeena Maianbar Art Trail for 4 years and exhibited widely with this group including The Chinese Construction Bank, Melbourne, 2015. Art in Action Audley, Kogarah Library & Cultural Centre Group Exhibition, Hazelhurst Community Gallery, Gymea. Parliament House, Sydney Earlier exhibits inclusive of: Melbourne ‘Failure’ Project with Art and Poetry exhibited and published. Major exhibit at Sydney Olympic Park Homebush, Parliament House Sydney, Art of Living Festival,Bundeena over 4 years including being featured artist. Sutherland Shire Art Society Exhibit. Blackheath Art Society, the Blue Mountains Art Group, The Crockett Heritage Prize, Katoomba. Bent Art, Blue Mountains . Wanda’s work is held in many private and public collections both in Australia and England, China, Brazil, Denmark, Italy, Jersey, Channel Islands UK and Israel. In 2014, Wanda, along with her Gallery Manager wife Sarah, opened Wanda Stafford Art Studio 11. The Gallery was a very successful boutique Art Gallery which was open for several years and featured 8 very prominent successful local artists, unfortunately the gallery closed in 2018 due to illness. This major setback with her health debilitated Wanda enough not to be able to paint, not even able to pick up a paint brush. After 2 almost 3 years of this debilitating ailment, slowly Wanda picked up her paint brushes and had to totally rethink how to do things that were always taken for granted. Easy fine brush strokes were challenged with shaky hands and visual disturbances. Multi skills and coordination were an issue and art was a massive task, an incredibly hard challenge. Wanda used art as rehabilitation and still with many physical and coordination issues, the creativity took over and now after 6 months with trying so hard to paint - an hour here, a few seconds at a time there, she is now creating art that she feels is better than prior to her Illness. “I have no boundaries, no fear of making mistakes or my work is not ‘good enough’. I had to change the way I painted and with that I am now experimenting with mediums, grounds, watercolour canvases etc. I may only be able to do an hour here, an hour there but it is wonderful to create again as Art is within me, oozing from my soul”. Wanda also wrote and published a personal journey of short stories and poetry whilst not able to pick up a brush to create. Stating creativity comes in more forms than just on a canvas/paper. Poetry and storytelling is also a powerful way to express creativity. And so she did a book named 'Let's Pretend to be Normal' by Wanda Stafford 2018. “I hope you enjoy my new creations as much as I am challenged with passion and an internal drive that I must create or I shall shrivel up with this ailment and be in a very dark place. I thank my gift that was given to me to rehabilitate and to share my passion, my challenges, my soul to the world. Buy one, own one, You will fall in love” |
