Wendy Borello RSMA

The natural world provides Wendy with the most inspiration and she carries a sketchpad and camera at all times. After qualifying as a diver in 1997 and captivated by the marine life and relics she had encountered, Wendy started sketching and photographing underwater. Wendy was excited to discover that depictions of the underwater world were capable of offering less-conventional interpretations of historical events at sea. 

A self-taught artist, Wendy's main work is carried out in transparent watercolour. Preparatory work for each painting includes sketches made on location, compositional ideas, colour palette and detailed drawing. Extensive research precedes paintings containing historical subject matter. Using only light-fast pigments, a watercolour is usually executed from a limited palette of four to six colours, though not necessarily the same ones for each work. An extended range of hues are obtained by mixing two, but never more than three, colours together. Wendy's painting methods often include innumerable layers of wet-on-dry glazing. Experimentation encourages Wendy to try to surpass the usual expectations of watercolour painting along with upholding the traditional values of the genre.

Wendy usually only works on one watercolour at a time. Her emotions are bound up in one piece until it is finished, which can be anything from 30 to over 100 hours, excluding preparatory work. This doesn't prevent her, however, from sketching, photographing and accumulating ideas of other things that she wishes to paint.