From the pigeon series that took Braemar Gallery in 2026.
Aleshanee Karan, artist. Paintings, prints, chess and jiu jitsu from the Blue Mountains, NSW.
Aleshanee Karan · Painter · Blue Mountains, NSW
Aleshanee Karan · Painter · Blue Mountains, NSW
About
Aleshanee started drawing at the age of four: intently, endlessly, and she never stopped. Homeschooled until she was fourteen, she learned at her own pace, and art was always on the timetable. What began as a child’s fascination with line and colour grew into a lifelong practice: filling sketchbooks, folding paper to an advanced level in origami while still young, and teaching herself to see.
Her painting The Art of Painting Me, Myself and I (2022) announced an early self-assured voice; in August 2024 the William Fletcher Foundation backed her practice with a $2,000 support grant; and in August 2026 her oil Garry the Pigeon in Blue, a 40 cm-diameter roundel, was selected for the Braemar Gallery Volunteers Exhibition in Springwood. She is now playing, experimenting and studying at the National Art School.
“Draw like nobody is watching. Then make them look.”
Selected works
Oils, prints and life studies, including the pigeon that flew into Braemar Gallery. Click any work to view it larger.
From the pigeon series that took Braemar Gallery in 2026.
Velvet, feathers and a watchful crow.
Feather by feather, the sitter returns.
Cloud country over the mountains.
Back to basics, line by line.
Loud birds, quiet ink.
New work appears first on Instagram. Follow @_ali_artworks_
Beyond the canvas
Aleshanee doesn’t separate art from life: strategy, grappling and folded paper all feed the same eye for pattern, patience and timing.
A rated player in Australian junior chess communities. Every game is a composition: openings sketched like underdrawings, endgames resolved like a finished canvas. The board taught her that patience wins more games than brilliance.
A former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor who represented Team SJJA at tournaments listed on Smoothcomp. The mats taught her leverage, calm under pressure and showing up daily, the same discipline that carries a painting from first stroke to final varnish.
She reached an advanced level in origami in her early years, discovering that a single sheet can hold cranes, dragons and entire geometries. Paper was her first canvas, and she still folds as a hobby today.
By day
When she's not painting, folding paper or on the mats, Aleshanee works as a barista at Bernedettos in Springwood, where the locals agree she makes the best coffee around. Espresso with an artist's eye: every pour considered, every cup a small composition.
Find her behind the machine · Bernedettos, Springwood NSW
The journey so far
Aleshanee starts drawing intently: portraits, animals, whole worlds. She simply never stops.
Homeschooled until she was fourteen, Aleshanee learns at her own pace: drawing, folding paper and playing chess become a curriculum of her own making.
Reaches an advanced level in origami while still young, folding complex forms and learning precision, patience and structure.
Chess becomes a second language. A rated player in Australian junior chess, she learns that the quiet move often wins.
Paints The Art of Painting Me, Myself and I, a self-portrait of the act of self-portraiture, and an early statement of intent.
Receives a $2,000 support grant from the William Fletcher Foundation to help carry her art practice forward.
Trained and competed for Team SJJA in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments listed on Smoothcomp, building the grit, humility and body awareness that still feed the studio.
“Playing, experimenting, and studying at @nas_au”. In August 2026, Garry the Pigeon in Blue (oil on board, 40 cm diameter) is selected for the Braemar Gallery Volunteers Exhibition in Springwood.
Studio snaps, fresh paintings and the occasional pigeon, posted as it happens.
Follow @_ali_artworks_Commissions & enquiries
For commissions, sales, exhibition enquiries or just to say hello, reach out through Instagram or email. Based in the Blue Mountains, NSW, and happy to ship Australia-wide.