Nicky Leigh - Profile

Nicky Leigh Home

Exhibitions

Nichola Alice Leigh
Background and Influences About my Art Curriculum Vitae Private and Public Collections Bibliography Reviews/Articles The Everard Group I am a painter of South African landscapes, still life, animals, nudes, portraits and dream imagery. I have been a practising artist since I finished studying for my B.A Fine Arts in 1988. My work is represented in public and private collections. I come from South Africa and live in Pietermaritzburg, a small town near Durban in Kwazulu-Natal. Background and Influences From an early age I was inspired by the art of my family that surrounded me. I am fortunate to come from a family of artists. My mother is Leonora Everard Haden, third generation of the highly acclaimed Everard Group of South African women artists. For more information on the Everard Group go to www.everard-group.com. My father was the late Derek Milton Leigh, artist and lecturer at various institutions most notably the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. I was always encouraged to draw and spent hours paging through my father’s collection of art books. I learned a lot by watching my parents at work. I started drawing portraits, imaginary battle scenes and animals. However my greatest passion was horses and I would do endless drawings of them in imaginary settings. At an early age I was very influenced by the work of Delacroix. top About my art For me, art portrays the mystery of life; the unconscious at work that allows one to transcend physical reality. To catch a glimpse of universal truths or a divine reality we cannot completely comprehend. Seemingly mundane realities or futile strivings take on a deeper significance. With art anything becomes possible - any fantasy or vision becomes visible. One could say that my work has a strong symbolic component to it. The truth is I merely paint what I see and feel. I do not deliberately set out to do something symbolic. I work very much on an unconscious level and only see various interpretations once I have completed the work and have it hanging on my wall for a while. I love colours, and delight in mixing them - my palette knows no restrictions. I would say that I have a strong sense of composition - the play of verticals, horizontals and curves. I often emphasise these aspects in a landscape. I also love to observe nature and people. I have a series of portraits of fellow patients done while I was hospitalised for depression. I am a perfectionist. When my work goes well I feel a sense of fulfilment and admiration of my creation. But this is not always the case. I sometimes feel isolated and my efforts seem pointless, frustrating and draining. What keeps me going is knowing that art can be a great inspiration and consolation to others. Art is part of my life and helps me to work through my experiences. My work sometimes reflects an emotive response to current issues, such as abuse of human rights, cruelty to animals, and environmental issues. top
Curriculum Vitae
Born	29 April 1966, Carolina, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Secondary Education	1983 Matriculated Girls High School Petermaritzburg
Tertiary Education	1985-1988 BAFA University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg 1996 Desktop Publishing Diploma
Media	Oil Painting, Water Colour, Pastel, Charcoal, Acrylic
Family background	Father: Derek Milton Leigh, Mother: Leonora Everard Haden (Everard Group)
Private and Public Collections Tatham Art Gallery. Pietermaritzburg. ABSA Bank Collection, Johannesburg. Barclays Bank Collection, Johannesburg. KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Museum Services, Pietermaritzburg. Standard Bank Corporate Collection, Johannesburg. KPMG, Johannesburg. Private collectors in South Africa, France and Holland Oppenheimer Collection. top
Bibliography The Everard Phenomenon Catalogue. An Exhibition of Paintings by the Everard Family. hosted by the Standard Bank Profiles on the Everard artists/ The Everard painters: A personal view of our family (Nichola Alice Leigh) Catalogue produced by Mindscape Studio, Johannesburg "The Everard Group, Then and Now" Catalogue An Exhibition of Paintings by the Everard Family Including works by Bertha Everard, Edith King, Ruth and Rosamund Everard, Leonora Everard Haden and Nichola Leigh. Exhibited at the Everard Read Gallery Johannesburg "The Landscape" Places seen through the eyes of 56 Artists. Catalogue. Exhibition curated by Julia Meintjes. July 2001 top
Reviews/Articles Sudheim, Alex, The fire of depression. Mail & guardian. October 2009 Van Eeden,Janet. KZN artists ingenuity. The Sunday Independent.4 Oct 2009 Groves,Sarah. Life story: Journeying to hope. Its not just artistic talent that runs in Nicky Leigh’s family. The Natal Witness.8 Jan 2008 Van Eeden,Janet. Blood, sweat and tears. Nicky Leigh comes from a family of famous artists. The Natal Witness. Oct 2006 Von Klemperer,Margaret. Exploring cages through art. The Natal Witness. 20June 2002 Von Klemperer,Margaret. Artist captures animal’s dilemma. The Natal Witness.7 Jan 2004 Van Eeden,Janet. Who's zoo. Bars brawl – an exhibition of works by Nicky Leigh has renewed the debate about the role of zoos. The Natal Witness: Weekend leisure.24 Jan 2004 Maas,Carie.Vroue van Bonnefoi. Rapport: My tyd .8 Nov 2009 Armstrong,Juliet. Everard women in world class. The Natal Witness 2 Nov 2000. Von Klemperer,Margaret. A phenomenal female dynasty of art. Inside story. The Natal Witness.12 feb 2000 Bishop,Sharon. Generations of artistic ability. The Mirror 26 Jan 2000 Xakaza,Mduduzu. Following a family tradition. The Natal Witness. 20 Jan 2000 Cook,Dan. Variety and some controversy at the NSA. Sunday Tribune. 26 October 1997 Meijer,Marianne. Fine arts scene alive. The Mercury. 15 Oct 1997 Von Klemperer,Margaret. Branching out to murals on walls. The Natal Witness.2 April 1993 Grimbeek, Yvonne. Personal paint. The Natal Witness. 1988 Lawrance,Clive. Images of another Natal? Art review Natal Biennale 3. The Natal Witness. Nov 1988 top
The Everard Group The Everard group consists of four generations of South African women artists, all from the same family line. Their paintings are bold and vibrant expressions of their intense love for the South African landscape. They also painted still life, seascapes, English and French landscapes, portraits, nudes and animals. Although the works are represented in all the major galleries and numerous private collections in South Africa, they were relatively little known outside art circles in South Africa, until the year 2000, when the Standard Bank sponsored The Everard Phenomenon Exhibition, which consisted of 58 major works and has been the most comprehensive exhibition to date. "Their works of the Eastern Transvaal, with unique and independent vision, expressed the mysteries which lay beneath as well as above the surface of the land. " Extract by Alan Crump - Everard Phenomenon exhibition catalogue, 2000. " I have just returned from a sortie in the United States and England……and can easily put this exhibition in the same category as the display in the National Museum of Women in the Arts Gallery in Washington and vouch that it would draw the same crowds." Extract from an article written by Juliet Armstrong in The Natal Witness. Nov 2000. The research on the Everard Group was started by Frieda Harmsen in her 1980 publication The Women of Bonnefoi - the Story of the Everard Group (Published by J.L van Schaik, ISBN 0627011152) (Everard Group web site) . First Generation: At the beginning of the matriarchal line, are the two sisters Edith and Bertha King: Edith Mary King (1871-1962) A painter of landscapes, still life and close-ups of plants and rocky pools. She worked mainly in watercolour and also produced a number of linocuts and clay pots. Edith was an art teacher, headmistress and poet. Bertha Everard (b. King) (1873-1965) A painter of landscapes, with a strong use of line and colour. She painted a number of portraits, and in 1926 painted the Delville Wood series of war devastated landscapes.She worked mainly in Oil. Bertha also studied music in Vienna 1891-1893, was an art teacher, designed and built churches and her Bonnefoi home in Mpumalanga. She was also a farmer and did mission work. Second Generation: Bertha married Charles Joseph Everard (1853-1946). They had three children Ruth, Rosamund and Sebastian. Ruth Everard Haden (b. Everard) (1904-1992) A painter of landscapes, particularly of Mpumalanga, seascapes of the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, portraits, figures, and of religious scenes. She worked in oil, watercolour and produced a number of linocuts. Ruth studied music and literature, and was a farmer and horse breeder. Rosamund Everard Steenkamp (b. Everard) (1907-1946) A painter of Mpumalanga landscapes, and a number of still life paintings. She worked mainly in Oil. She had no formal art training and learned to paint from her mother. Having studied piano and violin in Paris she became a talented musician. Later she practised farming and then took up flying. She became a qualified pilot and joined the South African Force and served in the Second World War. She was also a formidable competitor in equestrian events and a qualified senior judge of cattle Third Generation: Ruth married William Denholm Haden in 1929. They had two children: Bryan and Leonora. Leonora followed in the family tradition of painters while Bryan is a well known and accomplished potter in Cape Town. Leonora Everard Leigh (b. Haden) (1937- ) A painter of landscapes, still life, figures, interiors and seascapes. She works in oil, watercolour and pastel. Apart from her art, Leonora has been a mother of four children, an art teacher, and managed the family farm. She has also travelled extensively. Fourth Generation: Leonora married Derek Milton Leigh (1940-1993) in 1963. Derek became senior art lecturer in the Fine Arts Depertment, University of Natal and achieved recognition independently as a painter. They produced the fourth generation of Everards: Alana (Art Teacher and Artist), Nichola (Artist), Stephen (1969-1997) and Andrea (Architect). top

© 2001-2008 Nicky Leigh. All rights reserved.