Belynda Henry

Belynda Henry soaks her raw canvases in the creek on her property before she paints them. The water stains the unstretched canvas, and she then works on it in the studio in layers of oil and wax. She lives in a long, green valley north of Sydney and has spent her whole life in the countryside.

Pink Moon - Oil and wax on canvas

Henry studied visual arts at Sydney College of the Arts and has had more than 60 solo exhibitions since 1994. She has been a finalist for both the Wynne and the Archibald Prizes. “I am foremost a colourist, and secondly a naturalist,” she says.

Pink Burrawang - Oil and wax on canvas

She paints outdoors as well as in the studio. Her new work looks to Fauvism for its use of color and to Impressionism for light and atmosphere. Recently she has been painting along the California coast and further inland, in the desert and the national parks.

Full Moon Shimmer - Oil and wax on linen,

For the past six years her focus has been the US, where Findlay Galleries represents her. At one of her New York shows, Christian Louboutin bought most of the works. Her next exhibition opens at Findlay Galleries in Palm Beach in January 2027.