About the artist

Nicola Leader is an artist living and working in West Dorset, where she was brought up and has lived for most of her life. She has been passionate about painting since she was a child, but her career as a professional painter began in earnest 25 years ago when, after receiving a series of commissions for pictures of country houses in Dorset, she converted the hayloft above the stables at her home into a studio and exhibition space. The studio overlooks a parterre walled garden and an orchard filled with chickens – a favourite subject for Nicola.

Over the past 25 years, Nicola’s reputation has grown. She bases most of her landscape and seascape paintings on the beautiful West Dorset countryside around her, but has also captured scenes from Scotland, the Lake District, Pembrokeshire and France. Her paintings cover a wide range of subjects from wildlife, birds and flowers to farm animals and pets. She also paints hunting, shooting and fishing scenes. Nicola loves to paint her own house, garden and animals, while her portraits of dogs are a particular speciality.

Nicola is a regular exhibitor at her home studio during Dorset Art Weeks (26th May to 10th June 2012) and for the annual Bridport Open Studios event (21st to 30th May 2011). Her studio will also be open during the Beaminster Festival of Music and the Arts (24th June to 2nd July 2011).

Nicola also exhibits at select galleries such as Isabel de Pelet’s Guggleton Gallery (where she had a show in October 2010). She will be showing her work at Domineys Yard, Buckland Newton, Dorset (May 8 and October 16) during its Silver Jubilee Garden opening as part of the National Gardens Scheme. Nicola’s studio is open by appointment.

This website presents some of her original artwork, past and present. Her watercolours and oils are small to medium size, but she has also recently produced some larger oil canvases (30 x 24 cm) of seascapes. Many of her paintings are reproduced as greetings cards, which are sold across the UK and are also available for purchase online.