~
Leni Kae is a contemporary artist and illustrator based in Inner West Sydney. Leni’s art is highly spiritual, filled with captivating colour and underlying symbolism. Her artworks are aesthetic and emotional journeys of healing and spirituality.
Leni Kae
“When I paint, it is personal and, funnily enough, it is also not. I am consciously connecting to something that everyone feels at some point; emotions, dreams and passions,” Leni described her art practise. “It is a spiritual experience that is universal. The idea of a connection to a unifying and connecting language.”
Whispers For You in Pink | 101.6 x 101.6cm | Acrylic on stretched canvas
When Leni paints, the experience is as spiritual as it is creative to her. The process is a healing journey overcoming physical and emotional challenges. “My creative process reflects the healing process in a way. I take it to pieces to be able to put it together again through colours, lines, layers, paint and fluidity to something that feels more whole. I feel an expression of hope, freedom and appreciation of the beautiful moments at the end of a difficult time.”
Confessions From the Shadows: On Letting Go | 63.5 x 80cm | Acrylic on canvas
Leni has been painting since she was nine years old. She started with oil paints and fell in love with the qualities of the medium. Painting and art became her way of coping and dealing with both emotional and physical issues and challenges. Her art became her way of creating tranquillity and capturing her inner strength. “When I’m feeling fragile, it is sometimes hard to see that strength can live alongside that.”
Icecream Sundae Waterfall | 91.5 x 91.5cm | Acrylic on canvas
In her thirties, Leni developed a sensitivity to the odour of oil paints and was forced to change mediums. “That was really hard to deal with as all of a sudden [this change] was forced upon me. It ended up been a beautiful discovery though; acrylics and watercolours.”
Dance of the Blue Betta Fish | 28.7 x 28.7cm | Watercolour & acrylic paper
As her art is very emotionally charged, it took a few years for her to find that emotional connection to the new medium. “Watercolours, in particular, have a beautiful unpredictability. I had to learn how to go with the flow. This spoke strongly to me from a healing perspective and where I was in that point of my life.”
Flight of the Galah | 56 x 76cm | Watercolour & acrylic on paper
Specific animal motifs are a guiding theme in Leni’s art, birds and fish being some of these. “I have always been a bird lover and had birds as pets since I was a little girl. I always had a little budgie on my shoulder,” she described her fascination with painting birds. “Pablo, my parrot, was my studio buddy. When he passed away, I fell into painting birds. For me, they are the ultimate symbol of freedom. The idea of being able to disconnect and fly resonates with me. Fish, then again, are creatures of water and for me, water symbolises emotions.”
A Flying Flock to Give 2020 (Budgies) | 100 x 68cm | Watercolour & acrylic on paper
Leni has a background as an illustrator. Her recent art practise has reintroduced many elements of illustrations to her paintings; line being perhaps the most dominant one. It is almost a fusion of her paintings to her illustrative practice.
My Butterfly Spirit | 29.7 x 42cm | Ink pen on paper
“I have really enjoyed exploring the line this year and what has happened is incorporating the line with my other art. Everything starts with a line, the line is simplistic and defines the appreciation of a simple moment – lines in the wings, through the body, as a definition of the object.”
Sailing to the Middle, Enso Edition | 42 x 59cm | Watercolour on paper
“When someone connects with one of my artworks, it is absolutely beautiful as it means that they have connected with what I felt,” Leni said. “[For me] it is a reminder that we are all connected. It works against loneliness and isolation, and perhaps my art helps them express something that they might not have been able to express otherwise.”
~
