new artist — wilhelmina burnell – joyful abstraction

Bright, bold and playful. The whimsical abstract paintings of emerging artist Wilhelmina Burnell, who has just joined Handmark, explode with joy. They also reflect her other great love – the waterways of lutruwita/Tasmania.

After just two weeks in this world, Wilhelmina took her first boating trip and has been on – or under – the water ever since. “When I go boating with my husband and children, I do a lot of plein air which feeds into my paintings which I would describe as bold expressive landscapes. They are full of soul, with hidden treasures that reveal themselves the longer you look,” Wilhelmina explains.

Back in her home studio, underwater worlds flow from Wilhelmina’s brush. In Watergarden, the oil painting she will showcase in Handmark’s Affordable Art Exhibition, colour, movement and flowing flower-like forms hint at sea anemone and coral, drawing us into a paradise. Perhaps underwater. Perhaps imagined. “I want the viewer to make up their own story.”

But it is Wilhelmina’s colour that stands out above all else: “It’s the lifeblood of my paintings. I think about colour all the time. Let’s just say – my house is not all white!” With an artist mother, Wilhelmina grew up surrounded by creativity, and life as an artist was always her guiding star. Joining Handmark marks the next chapter in her story. “I am just over the moon.”