Focusing on identifying the Queensland beachscape and lifestyle through intense and strong colours, Anne Mcleay gives us a window into her soul to show us her attitude of the place she loves best for living. Her brilliant colour explorations come from an inner spiritual sanctum. Throughout her work, McLeay expresses an optimistic and spiritually up-lifting viewpoint. Her aim is to evoke happiness in the viewer and to express an opinion of not taking life too seriously, enjoying the scenes and objects around us.
McLeay's paintings are concerned with the natural scapes of which we are familiar in Queensland as well as the internal landscapes of emotion and spirit. She reintroduces us to complicated images through simplification, using bright and intense colours to express the pure essence of the scene or object. Through this approach she captures the spiritual energies with free brush strokes and luminous colour. McLeay is constantly exploring the visual world with great curiosity looking for line, colour, shape and form in its original beauty. Through this method she captures the 'present' and she is able to engage her audience in the familiar. Her viewpoint challenges a new way of looking at our environment through optimistic eyes. Her work possesses both realistic and abstract form in its true expression of beauty. She is a colourist foremost; however, some works express a request for a profound inner serenity discovered through a period of inner reflection and meditation in her life.
Recent works show a change of observation in the visual world. Through her position as a secondary Art teacher, McLeay is interested in urban sub-culture groups. Her works express in simplistic form, her interest in surfing, graffiti, posters and cartoon characters. Her art works in this direction express messages with a sense of humour, in an uplifting light. She feels our invented cultures have much to offer.
McLeay has traveled extensively around the world, feeling a connection with London, Italy and New York. She feels this allows her to appreciate even more the great lifestyle she has in Queensland and Australia, which is expressed, through her works.
