Living amongst the temperate forests of Corhanwarrabul / Dandenong Ranges, Emma has built her art practice in collaboration with the forest – observational drawings are reduced to geometric shapes and patterns about healthy ecologies, sustainability and resilience. Using renewable materials inspired by old cultures and their relationship to the land is a constant theme. We are bound together through our biology, community and caring for country.

Emma uses washes of watercolour to build up layers of tone, and patterns emerge from intricate shapes painted in gouache. Despite the existence of mathematical patterns and rules in the natural world, organisms rarely grow in an ordered or perfect way. There’s beauty in imperfection. 

Recently she has been experimenting with earth pigments and frottage techniques taking impressions of the devastation caused by the storm event of June 2021. Like gentle movements in the landscape, the focus is on the ethereal, the unseen – what we feel, and what we breathe, highlighting the importance of clean air.

Forging a path of her own as a self-represented artist, Emma has created a unique gallery and studio in Olinda Village designed to make viewing and purchasing artwork a warm and inspiring experience, featuring not only Emma’s original paintings and archival prints, but also cards and textiles made in Australia, handmade Japanese stationery, vintage ceramics, and books. Emma believes art should be accessible to everyone, and warmly welcomes diverse audiences of all ages and abilities into her space, where you can talk to her about her materials and processes and view her work in progress. 

Emma’s work is held in local, interstate and international collections and has a growing number of collectors who regularly purchase her work. Emma participated in the Dandenong Ranges Open Studios for four consecutive years, winning the People’s Choice Award twice, and runner up twice. She is the 2023 winner of the People's Choice Award for the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale with her painting 'Future Fighters'.

​

Emma is extending her practise to explore sculptural works following on from two  recent commissions from Parks Victoria for large scale public artworks and several private commissions.

In 2022 she developed a community project to support locals in recovery after the devastating storm of 2021. She has painted six large portraits of impacted residents and volunteer first responders on timber salvaged from fallen trees, and worked with other local artists to run creative workshops at Emma Jennings Gallery hosting 170 residents who painted their own stories on small blocks of salvaged wood. The project is currently on display at the Yarra Ranges Regional Musuem in Lilydale until September 8, 2024. You can see more about the Stories of Giants project here.

Contact Emma for any enquiries or more information.