Leaves is a Utopia style originating from one of the greats; the late Gloria Petyarre.

When Gloria first started painting Leaves,it was in the mid 90’s and, at first, unintentional. Utopia artists, being mostly women, had a freedom of style to paint their Dreamings from the movement's inception, and one day, while painting her Dreaming with bold brush strokes, Gloria realised it looked like leaves laying on the ground.

This approach to painting was a turning point for Aboriginal art and is appreciated for its aptness to convey cultural content in a modern, free-flowing version of an Australian landscape.

"The yams are small and slender tubers the size of a pencil, and it's the bright green, slightly heart shaped leaves that emerge from the ground and indicate where to find them. This is what Dulcie paints.

She generally starts in the centre of the canvas, dipping her brush into one to two different colours before applying it onto the canvas in brief successions; imitating the heart-shaped, leaf-like designs in blended shades that sweep out and across the surface."

"Gloria's classic Leaves paintings are those made with a small brush. Leaves are meticulously crafted with small, swift brush strokes, usually in a singular layer or distinct, separated layers.

For the 10-20 years before her death in 2021, Gloria largely painted a big bold leaf in a study of colour layered upon layer."