Philippa Mary Nikulinsky (born 1942) is an artist and

botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

based in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Biography

Nikulinsky was born in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

in 1942, a remote region in central Western Australia. She began working as an illustrator of natural history in the mid 1970s, specialising in plants from harsh environments. Her illustrations have been included in many books and magazines. She is the author or coauthor of books on plants, animals, and their environment. Other works include the cover art for

Landscope ''Landscope'' is the quarterly journal of Western Australia's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government department respons ...

, scientific journals, and other publications. Nikulinsky’s career focuses on a lifetime fascination with the flora and fauna of the arid lands of

. For nearly 50 years Philippa has travelled throughout this enormous state to record, draw and paint its phenomenal natural history. She has shared her gift for watercolour painting through teaching, exhibitions, commissioned works and publications. Nikulinsky has made contributions to ''

Flora of Australia The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 30,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, ...

''. She is the author of a work on ''

Banksia menziesii ''Banksia menziesii'', commonly known as firewood banksia, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Banksia''. It is a gnarled tree up to tall, or a lower spreading shrub in the more northern parts of its range. The serrated leaves ar ...

'' (Firewood Banksia), provided illustrations and text to ''Life on the Rocks'' (with

Stephen Hopper Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE (born 18 June 1951) is a Western Australian botanist. He graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. Hopper has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his n ...

), and a large format art book called ''Soul of the Desert''. Many of her works include several organisms, illustrating the ecological relationships of the primary subject, and are noted for possessing high levels of detail while still maintaining a sense of spontaneity. As with other botanical illustrators, she works primarily in

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

. In 2011 Her Majesty,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Perth for the meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government (

CHOGM The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of gov ...

). During the visit, the Premier of Western Australia presented the Queen with a gift of Philippa’s limited edition publication ‘Wildflowers of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia’ on behalf of the State government and the people of Western Australia. Her latest collection of work, Cape Arid includes paintings by her husband Alex Nikulinsky and is held at the world-renowne
COMO The Treasury Hotel in Perth
In 2016,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

opened the hotel and was presented with a work from the series. On 26 January 2016 Nikulisnky was awarded Member (AM) in the general division of the Order of Australia, "for significant service to the visual arts as a botanical painter and illustrator, to professional associations, and as an author."

Ceramics

From 1995 to 2005 Nikulinsky was commissioned to design and paint Australian plants and animals for use on dinnerware produced by Australian Fine China. These were sold throughout the world.

Works

From 1990 to 2006 Nikulinsky painted the cover illustration of the quarterly magazine ‘Landscope’ for the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management. In 2004 Philippa was commissioned to paint leschenaultia for the May 2004 edition of ‘Curtis’, the magazine produced by the

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

in the United Kingdom. Nikulinsky has been praised for her work on ''

'', describing each stage of the reproductive cycle. The inflorescence of banksias is regarded as one of the most challenging subjects to depict. The brief text is accompanied by a series of extraordinary illustrations, both endpapers showing a seed of the species. * ''Flowering Plants of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia: Goldfields of Western Australia''. (1986) International Specialized Book Services. * ''BANKSIA MENZIESII'' (1992) Philippa Nikulinsky.

Fremantle Arts Centre Press Fremantle Press (formerly known as Fremantle Arts Centre Press) is an independent publisher in Western Australia. Fremantle Press was established by the Fremantle Arts Centre in 1976. It focuses on publishing Western Australian writers and writin ...

. . * ''Life on the Rocks: The Art of Survival'' (1999) Philippa Nikulinsky and Stephen D. Hopper. Fremantle Arts Centre Press . * ''Wildflowers in Watercolour''Philippa Nikulinsky. Fremantle Arts Centre Press (November 2000) . * ''1999 Australian Wildflower Diary'' (2000). Philippa Nikulinsky. International Specialized Book Services. . * ''Soul of the Desert'' (2000) Philippa Nikulinsky and Stephen D. Hopper. Fremantle Arts Centre Press (October 2005). * ''Cape Arid'' (2012) Philippa and Alex Nikulinsky. Fremantle Press.

References

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Biography

Ceramics

Works

References

See also