Artist Statement
Leanne Dewar is an artist working between Glasgow and Alloa whose practice centres on contemporary watercolour as an expanded, experimental medium. Her work is increasingly driven by a desire to engage directly with natural elements—earth, water, fire and air—using watercolour not only as paint, but as an active, responsive material shaped by elemental forces.

Since graduating from Edinburgh College of Art with a BA (Hons) in Painting, Dewar has consistently challenged traditional perceptions of watercolour. She approaches it as a sculptural, process-led medium, embracing its capacity for unpredictability and transformation. Gravity, temperature, evaporation and atmosphere are integral to her practice, allowing each work to evolve through a dialogue between intention and chance.

Growing up in Girvan, Dewar’s early experiences of painting outdoors and working in close proximity to nature continue to inform her contemporary approach. Coastal exploration, improvisation and sensory freedom underpin her commitment to play, curiosity and openness, qualities that remain central to her watercolour practice today.

Recent work has pushed watercolour into three-dimensional and hybrid forms. Dewar has experimented with natural earth pigments, frozen washes and the encapsulation of watercolour within handblown glass spheres. These works, which she describes as ‘3D paintings’, reflect a bold reimagining of what contemporary watercolour can be—merging material investigation with humour and inviting viewers to encounter the medium in unexpected ways.

This evolving elemental focus marks a new chapter in Dewar’s practice, positioning contemporary watercolour as both subject and collaborator. Through immersion in elemental processes, her work seeks to reveal the forces that shape not only materials, but our wider relationship to the natural world.