Flinders Ranges, SA, acrylic on canvas

Gwenda Branjerdporn is a painter who works mainly with acrylics, creating works that capture fleeting natural beauty. Utilizing a broad, saturated color palette and observational style, Gwenda works to capture beauty in the everyday.

Australian King Parrot, acrylic on canvas

I love the exuberant way that Gwenda utilizes color throughout her portfolio. The artist doesn’t seem to adhere to a particular palette or color style, rather selecting the appropriate color scheme for each given subject. Tropical birds are painted in bright reds, pinks, and blues, reflecting both the natural appearance of the animals, and an idealized vision of them. In floral paintings, Gwenda’s colors are sometimes more subdued, leaving room for the occasional deeply saturated petal among pastels and neutral tones.  

The front page of Gwenda's portfolio website

While the majority of works in Gwenda’s portfolio feature birds and florals, the artist also experiments with human figures on occasion. A recent work depicts an embrace between two figures, with pastels creating an interestingly lined aesthetic, lending a sense of animated movement to the image.

The Embrace, acrylic and oil pastel