At first glance, Leanne Dunstan’s artworks are exotic depictions of flora, fauna, birds and butterflies.
But the closer you look, and the more you learn about her, the deeper you sink into the worlds she creates.
The stories of Leanne’s childhood bleed through her art as her watercolours bleed onto the paper.
Each artwork in her Natural Quirks collection is both inspired by and tied to a memory of a person or place that has shaped her into the artist she is today.
Despite the personal nature of each piece she creates, people from all walks of life are drawn to them, finding a part of themselves between the delicate outlines.
“Each piece of art has a story to tell,” said Leanne.
“Sometimes people buy the art because they connect with the story. Sometimes they look at the art then find themselves in the story.”
From Gray’s School of Art to wallpaper industry
It’s easy to see why the line between Leanne and her work is so blurred when you delve into her past.
Originally from Potterton, she said: “From a young age, all I did was paint and draw, I was doodling and drawing all the time.
“I think it’s my form of escapism. I wasn’t academic at school, I was always daydreaming in classes and drawing, the art department was the only place I wanted to be.”
Leanne went on to study at Gray’s School of Art before securing a job at John Lewis, then moving to Lancaster where she spent the next 14 years working in the wall coverings industry.
After her second son was born, she took a step back to reevaluate.
“I wasn’t painting as much because the demand for us to get designs out was ridiculous, she said.
“It was a bit soul-destroying, I was in that hamster wheel of industry working.
“I said to my husband ‘I just feel so lost’, I hadn’t painted for ages and had lost my confidence with it all.”
She started to paint for enjoyment’s sake again around six years ago, a decision that evolved into the Natural Quirks creation.
Creating Natural Quirks
The Natural Quirks collection is an explosion of colour, painted in watercolour.
Nature is at the heart of each piece, with Leanne’s fascination for living things enabling her to breathe life into everything she creates.
“My work is always nature-based, anything living, growing, breathing,” she said.
“As humans we naturally connect to that, I just find it fascinating. I’ve collated a library of images of unusual plants or animals, colours. I hate anything black and white, colour just brightens my life.”
Butterflies are welcomed visitors in each and every painting, a feature that seems to have seeped into her daily life.
“I absolutely love butterflies, I try and paint a butterfly in every artwork,” said Leanne.
“I actually think I breed them in the house, I’ve currently got one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom, I don’t know why they are there but I want them to stay.”
A poem per piece
Leanne’s art comes attached to a glimpse into her past. She writes a poem for each piece, which can be read or listened to on her website.
Stories include Carmen Mirandrill, which pays tribute to the “tribe” she created at Gray’s.
“When I went there I met a bunch of people who thought like I did, I didn’t know where I was in the world or what I was doing but they grounded me,” said Leanne.
Another strong presence in her paintings is her grandma – the “matriarch” of the family.
In Forget Me Not, Leanne remembers her constant encouragement to nurture her creative talent.
While giving others an insight into her life, the Natural Quirks stories help Leanne too.
“I sometimes go back and read them and remind myself of where I have been,” she said.
Following her art
Leanne recently created a mural for Cup in Aberdeen, enabling her to have a part of herself in the hometown she still loves dearly.
As for her individual artworks, she follows them after releasing them out into the world.
“I try to keep in touch with everyone who buys the art,” she said.
“Some people are really young, some are really old, some male, some female. I think that means lots of people can appreciate my art.”
Leanne hopes to keep sharing her art with the world, allowing it a peek into her past.
She said: “Someone asked me recently how I have the patience to do what I do with watercolours and I think it’s because I just get lost in it.
“I go into a kind of meditative state of complete calmness. I just love it.”
Leanne sells original works in galleries and limited edition prints online. Find out more about the Natural Quirks collection on Instagram, Facebook and at naturalquirks.com.
Conversation