Top NZ artists donate works to auction in memory of Marlborough landscape artist

Leading New Zealand artists have donated works for an auction in memory of Marlborough landscape artist Jenny Doole-Leo, who died recently of cancer.

Artists including sculptor Llew Summers have donated pieces which are being offered in an online auction to raise funds for her daughters’ Luisa, 15, and Sina, 11, tertiary education.

The works can be viewed at www.jennyauction.co.nz or at Mahi Wine’s exhibition space, Terrace Road, Renwick, Marlborough until August 1.

Her sister Bev Doole said artists had generously donated to the auction which reflected the warmth Jenny brought to her friendships and the interest she showed in other people.

Jenny was trained as an apprentice potter in Durness in Scotland, giving her a taste for the remote living and awe-inspiring landscapes that became a feature of her life and work.

Back in New Zealand she concentrated on clay, with pieces ranging from thrown cups and saucers to statuesque terracotta heads. Ceramics gradually gave way to her distinctive chalk pastel drawings. She had a studio at Tua Marina near Blenheim.

Friend and fellow artist Bridget Bidwill said of Jenny Doole-Leo: “As an artist, no one before or after her will capture the Marlborough landscape with such simplicity and spirit. She had a beautiful sense of colour and mood and the lucky people who own her works will treasure them.”

She wasn't famous, and she wasn't rich, yet the big church hall in Blenheim was overflowing a few weeks back for Jenny Doole-Leo's farewell.