Paula Jenkins

Paula Jenkins is a contemporary landscape artist based in Walcha on the Northern Tablelands of NSW. Her expressive paintings are characterised by nuanced colour and gestural mark-making, moving between representation and abstraction. With a background in environmental studies, the natural environment has remained central to her practice. Immersion in diverse terrains and environments is integral to her process, providing both the subject matter and impetus for her work.

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More recently, Paula moved away from oil paint as one of her primary mediums due to health considerations. While initially a challenging transition, the shift became an unexpected turning point in her practice, changing not only the materials she works with, but the way she approaches and thinks about painting. It has prompted greater experimentation with layering, drawing, mixed media, raw surfaces and more intuitive mark-making, allowing her to explore the physicality and possibilities of the surface more deeply. This expanded approach has brought a greater sense of freedom and discovery to her work, moving beyond a purely representational response to landscape towards a more conceptual exploration of place, memory, experience and the environment.

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“My art is a continuous journey of discovery as I explore, through painting, the diverse environments of Australia. I look deeply into a landscape, searching for the subtleties, histories and associations that lie within. My aim is to evoke emotion and a sense of place, to create connections with the Australian environment that invite a deeper understanding of the beauty, wildness, ruggedness and mystery of our unique landforms.”

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Paula has held numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia, including solo exhibitions at Maitland Regional Art Gallery, New England Regional Art Museum and Tamworth Regional Gallery, and has been selected as a finalist in numerous art prizes. Her work is held in private and public collections in Australia and internationally, including the University of New England and the State Library of NSW.

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Her practice has been featured in a range of publications, including A Painted Landscape by Amber Creswell Bell, published by Thames & Hudson. A significant curatorial project was Earthed at the New England Regional Art Museum, for which Paula brought together 14 artists from across Australia to explore environmental concerns and our relationship with the natural world.