Charlotte Wensley

Charlotte is an abstract mixed-media artist working from her bushland studio near Lake Weyba on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. With landscape as her muse and colour and shape as her companions, each painting unfolds through curiosity, inquiry and a liminal approach that enables her to respond to what is happening on the canvas at any given moment; she works without pre-destined outcomes or plans for what a finished painting might become. She balances the accidental and the unexpected with decision making and response, respectfully allowing the painting to find its own way into being, weaving process and thoughts together as she works. The lack of prescription in her process is a conscious decision, so she remains entirely free to experiment with materials and processes. She employs collage, printmaking, drawing and painting in her work in various ways, creating layers of visual texture and surface history on the canvas. Her creative practice is primarily driven by a desire to capture moments of chance encounter as they meet with knowledge and understanding of self, process and the materials she’s working with and allowing a unique creative journey to unfold during the making of each piece. Symbolism is a recurrent theme in her work as she interprets manifestations of landscape as a metaphor for spiritual space allowing her to explore personal narratives as they emerge during the creative process.  

Her work has been recognised through inclusion in various art awards and finalists exhibitions, including the Queensland Regional Art Awards (2012), Local Artists Local Content at Caloundra Regional Gallery (2022/2023), Du Reitz Art Award at Gympie Regional Gallery (2022/2023), Art2Life International Juried Art Show (2022), Lethbridge Gallery 20000 Salon (2022); and in 2024 was awarded winner in the abstracts section of the Eclectica Art Awards (Cooroy Butter Factory Arts Centre) and also at the Royal Queensland Art Society Members Annual Show (awarded by Sam Creyton, Curatorial & Engagement Manager at HOTA). Her work was recently selected for inclusion in ‘Virtues & Vocations’ published by Notre Dame University, Indiana, USA and Create! Magazine: Issue #47 – the TAX Collection. She holds a Diploma in Art Foundation Studies (York Technical College, UK) a BA (Hons) in Art and Design Technology (Leeds University, UK) and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education in Art – Secondary (Bath Spa University, UK).Charlotte is a contributor to her local arts scene, through collaborations, facilitating mixed media and printmaking workshops, exhibiting at the Cooroy Butter Factory Arts Centre and welcoming visitors to her studio during the annual Noosa Open Studios Art Trail event.