About Nicole Parkins-Leak
Through my paintings I capture imaginative interpretations of landscapes that depict my strong feelings for the earth and sea around me.
With today’s concerns about global warming, drought and other negative changes in our natural environment, I strive to capture the memories and the energies that are given to us from our earth that we hope and aim to treasure and preserve. My work has been referred to as evocative, captivating and full of emotion. People have also described some of my work to capture the true Australia. This can be seen in the way I’ve depicted the land with its light, colour and moods and also through the sense of wistful memory-perhaps of a holiday at the beach-resent in some of my works. My paintings have been noted to capture the intensity of the many moods of the Australian landscape, the drama played in its many changing forms and our experience of this. I graduated from Fine Art in 2001. Between 2001 and 2006 I had 6 solo exhibitions, completed an artist in residency in South Australia and was been involved in many group exhibitions and painting demonstrations. During 2007 I traveled to Europe, fulfilling my dream to witness the galleries, art and churches that I grew up looking at in books. Having grown up with a love for the great outdoors, I was captivated by the coasts and landscape of Europe, Scotland and Ireland. It was on this trip that I found a new passion, meeting my husband! I returned to Australia full of inspiration and painted may works inspired by Italy, where I'd completed a one month residency in Montecastello, Tuscany. An exhibition followed. In 2011 I began a break from painting. I have spent the last few years creating some of my two biggest artworks yet, our two wonderful children. This time has also seen us moving around Australia as a family- 4 states in 5 years, giving me the ability to fulfill one of my lifetime dreams of seeing Australia. Since 2015 I have stepped back into my creative space, exploring collaborations with local kindergartens and schools. This is an area that I am looking forward to expanding. I am also looking forward to exhibiting once again. |