FLEURIEU ICONS EXHIBITION 2026

lesley redgate

Born London in 1955, emigrated to South Australia in 1967. Her career as artist and educator began in 1977 upon completing studies in Fine Art at the SA School of Art (Uni SA) and Graphic Design (Tafe SA) in 2002. Lesley has worked as a specialist Art teacher, Graphic Design Lecturer and currently teaches at Adelaide Central School of Art while continuing her arts practice full-time.

Winner of the Thomas Laird Memorial Traveling Art Study Award in 1993 led to overseas travel in 1994 and 1997. Her work was selected by the National Gallery of Victoria for their collection as a recipient of the Michell Endowment, in 1978.

During the 1990’s she painted en plein air in Whites Valley near Willunga with the Strout Farm group which included artists Geoff Wilson, Dave Dallwitz & Hugo Shaw. Drawing inspiration from the changing Fleurieu landscape, the Australian Modernists and French Post-impressionists, Lesley has developed a style which focuses on the subtleties of colour to describe form, capturing the unusual from ordinary scenes recording the history of the area which she has a deep connection to.

She has been a finalist in The Portia Geach, Fleurieu Art Prize, Waterhouse Art Prize, Heysen Art Prize, Well Made –Guildhouse, RSASA Portrait Prize, Capital Permanent at Geelong Art Gallery and Semi Finalist – Doug Moran and has exhibited widely in public and private galleries throughout Australia.

SKELETAL BARNS

‘Skeletal Barns’ depicts a group of corrugated iron sheds located near Sellicks Hill. I’ve painted them throughout the seasons and different times of day. Despite their gradual decline, they are a reminder of our early settler days.

PURPLE, GREEN, ORANGE AT WHITES VALLEY

The Willunga Hills provide a rich source of subject matter. Their rounded forms are a backdrop to many landscapes. Haybales, trees and hills become a series of faceted shapes in warm and cool colours with brushwork that follows the contours of forms. 

SHEDS BAKERS GULLY ROAD

Driving past this scene on numerous occasions, there was a silver light cast on the corrugated iron sheds one day. It was a subject that was just waiting for that perfect time of day. 

ROGERS ROAD BARNS – LATE IN THE DAY

Set on the plains leading to Sellick’s Hill, stand a group of local heritage barns which I've painted 6 times since 1998. Once used for local dances, they are an example of early iron sheds with roughly hewn tree trunks, telling stories of times gone by. Falling into disrepair, I see their beauty in the fading summer light surrounded by purple thistles.  

THE HILLSIDE, KAY BROS

Situated on a hillside in McLaren Vale, The Hillside Vineyards are a part of the Kay Brothers Winemaking tradition. With an appreciation for heritage and quality wine, Colin and Ruth Kay have been very supportive of the arts holding exhibitions in their cellar door gallery. One day Ruth showed me the western view of the winery and homestead from the creek below on the eastern slope. The working life of the winery with the vineyard tracks and buildings created a certain geometry. A composition of verticals where the posts stand amongst the bare winter vines and delineate the vineyard blocks where various varieties such as the 'Hillside Shiraz' are grown.  

BUILDING THE PEDLER CREEK BRIDGE

Struck by the dramatic construction of the Pedler Creek Bridge with its sweeping road leading south to the Fleurieu Peninsula, I randomly selected squares and rearranged to create a balance of colour, line, shape and form.  

At the same time I wanted to demonstrate the need for balance between the natural and the man made environment in order to protect the character of the place we live in. 

The painting invites the viewer to ‘connect’ the parts of the composition and identify with ‘place’.