Leah Thiessen

Leah Thiessen lives and paints in Northern NSW.  Leah’s uses abstraction to respond to the landscape, including the bush, beaches and mangroves that surround her home.
Thiessen has been a finalist in many prizes, including the Calleen Art Award(2019, 2016, 2015), the John Leslie Art Prize (2018, 2016) the Pro Hart Outback Art Prize, the Paddington Art Award and the Clayton Utz Art Award. Leah has exhibited nationally since 2010.

“My paintings examine the natural ecology of the Terranora Broadwater, with its mangroves and natural bush terrain. Living amongst this eco system with its ever-changing imagery is the catalyst for my work.

 In nature nothing is ever static, there is always sound, emotion, mood, memory that accompany the visual. I store what I see in my subconscious mind until it’s ready to emerge, conveying a spirit of place. The body of work comes from a connection to the water’s edge. ‘I’m drawn to the chaotic line and frantic energy of the mangroves…..a place that is buzzing with energy’.”