Comprising 62 original paintings, Wendy Arnold’s latest exhibition, Hypnotic. achieves new frontiers of technique, using gold leaf, lace, print, French papers, methods of sanding, re-working and other decorative skills. The alluring portraits feature women in corsets, lace and lingerie.

“I call my art works ‘my girls’, and this year, once they were all complete, I threw a party for them to bless them imbibe them with good luck and send them on their way to their new homes,” Wendy Arnold said.

“It was really sweet, it’s the first time I’ve been able to have my friends view the paintings before they were shipped away. If you can make something with love and then give it its own aura and spirit, it walks away as something with life.”

“I’m always interested in developing a new recipe – or new technique – to expand my repertoire and when I look at the results, I see work that is so feminine. I guess that’s a little part of me in being feminine and wanting to be feminine. I particularly love some of the bright pinks and reds that have emerged through this collection.”

Arnold, who was born in New Zealand and grew up in Perth, was one of three owners and fashion designers who launched the successful label Studibaker Hawk in the 1980s. She has been painting full time since 1995 and her work is held in private and prestigious corporate collections in Australia, New Zealand and further abroad.

The exhibition will be at Gullotti Galleries, upstairs in Claremont Quarter, November 2017.