Bronte Leighton-Dore
Sydney-based artist Bronte Leighton-Dore draws inspiration from the natural landscape—her gestural and captivating artwork a process of mark-making, reflecting the world around her.
Words: Hande Renshaw I Photography: Bee Elton & Traianos Pakioufakis
Bronte Leighton-Dore in her sun drenched Sydney studio. Photo: Bee Elton
'I work with gouache on paper plein air in the landscape. I’ll take my paints, brushes and paper and set up somewhere in a National park or by the ocean.' Photo: Bee Elton
Bronte Leighton-Dore draws her inspiration for her work from trips made to the natural landscape. Photo: Bee Elton
“I love the opportunity to do something I love. To be able to go out into nature and then back in the studio and explore the way I see and experience the world through paint. It’s pretty magical and I’m very grateful.”
'Your art practice grows with you as you grow. A lesson that comes up for me at this moment is to follow your gut. But sometimes you don’t and that’s also okay.' Photo: Bee Elton
'I’m planning to head to far North Queensland soon to the Daintree and I’m excited to see what will happen to the palette inspired by a wet tropical environment.' Photo: Traianos Pakioufakis
'I love the way the light streams through in the afternoon,' says Bronte of her studio space in Buon Gusto Studios. Photo: Traianos Pakioufakis
'Ever since I started my career, I feel like it’s been one foot in front of the other following the different opportunities that presented themselves.' Photo: Bee Elton
On reflection, Sydney-based artist Bronte Leighton-Dore’s childhood was filled with endless art and creativity. ‘It was like a companion—something that I enjoyed and knew I was good at. I was keenly encouraged by my parents and those around me,’ shares Bronte.
Creativity wasn’t purely about drawing and painting, Bronte would also fill her days with creative writing, reading and dancing. ‘My dad read to me regularly and helped me grow my Enid Blyton collection. I listened to a lot of ABBA. My mum would take my brother and I to Reverse Garbage, where we would collect a basket full of goodies to explore and create with back at home,’ she adds.
In her studio today, set within Buon Gusto Studios in Syndey’s inner-city, Bronte starts her day after an early morning session of yoga and meditation, practices that keep her grounded and ready for the day ahead. ‘Once at the studio, I’ll light incense before I start painting. I’ll say a few words of gratitude and thanks for the opportunity to create, and put on some music.’
Bronte’s work moves beyond purely abstract. For the artist, her still life and landscape paintings are ‘Gestural representations—but I guess if you’re going off art movements and styles, it would probably be closer to expressionism and impressionism,’ says Bronte.
Drawn to the practice of viewing and mark-making to express her personal interpretation of the world, Bronte’s work sits between the expression of subjective emotions, inner experiences and spiritual themes and also ‘capturing a likeness of a person, light, atmosphere, object or landscape, and how it is perceived by the individual. I think these are closer to my objectives when I paint.’
Working with gouache on paper plein-air in the natural landscape, Bronte’s process involves taking her paints, brushes and paper and setting up in a National Park or by the ocean. ‘I’ll paint a lot, concentrating on line, colour and mark. These works on paper are then taken into the studio, where I’ll decide on which work most excites me to enlarge into an oil on a primed board. My aim is to create a likeness to the energy and lightness of that plein-air work, which is an intimate correspondence with nature and enlarging the scale creates an immersive experience for the audience,’ she says.
Throughout Bronte’s career, there’s been much growth, with many valuable lessons learnt along the way, ‘Your art practice grows with you as you grow. A lesson that comes up for me at this moment is to follow your gut. But sometimes you don’t and that’s also okay. As Angie McMahon sings on her recent album, “Make mistakes, make mistakes, it’s okay, it’s okay”. And I guess that’s another lesson.’
Looking ahead, Bronte hopes to work in more regional galleries, where she will get to spend time in a new location and also connect with its local community. She will also be exhibiting at this year’s Sydney Contemporary, ‘After that, I’m looking forward to having some time off from the studio—I plan to head to far North Queensland to do some plein-air painting in preparation for my next solo exhibition in 2025.’
For more information about Bronte’s work, visit her website or follow her on Instagram.