02/06/2026
There is a painting near the middle of Leoni Duff’s gallery in the Old Brisbane Arcade. A woman walking with her children in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, the weather pressing in from all sides. There is a visceral, emotive quality to the piece, like so many of Leoni’s paintings.
The gallery around it has that same quality. White walls, steady light, the converted bones of what was once a bank and then a hairdresser, now hung with Tasmanian landscapes and portraits. Leoni has been here for more than two decades, still teaches art, and thinks about everyone who comes through the door in the same way she always has. “Underneath it all, being a mother, I just feel like everybody who comes in is someone you have to care for,” she says. “My goal is to encourage them, teach them, and build them up so they leave a happier person, with a new passion to paint."
Read on at the link below to learn more about Leoni's journey from artist, to teacher, and gallerist:
https://launcestoncentral.com.au/blog/launnie-longstanders-leoni-duff
