Lucinda Leveille: Creative Interpretations of the Land

Art Lovers | 18 February 2024

Written by Anna Itkonen

Gold Coast artist Lucinda Leveille paints predominantly in watercolours and oils. These mediums offer her different creative expressions and outlets; the watercolours are a vessel of joy and playfulness used to depict flowers and garden arrangements while the oils explore strong emotions, stormy landscapes and notions of solitude and silence.

Insurgent Waters | 93 x 63cm, Oil on canvas

“I focus on landscapes, perhaps because my father was a landscape painter. He painted clouds too, very similar to my paintings,” Lucinda said. “Landscapes always intrigue me and as much as I love the beauty of a simple bunch of blooms, I simply can’t escape the pull that a horizon line offers.”

Shades of Wattle | 93 x 48cm, Oil on canvas

For her, art is an expression and interpretation that is aesthetically pleasing but also draws out strong emotions as the viewer discovers new connections and layers in the painting. “I am solitary as an artist and it is hard for me to come out of that world,” Lucinda said. “[My paintings] allow me to create a connection with the viewer.”

Grow Strong II | 76 x 102cm, Oil on canvas

“I am working on a new series. My solitary trees have morphed into roads. This is about finding your path. The world is changing, the roads and our paths have changed,” Lucinda said. “The tree is still present but there are leaves on it now. Maybe it is about regrowth and trying to find your own way forward.”

Time Is Never Planned | 100 x 120cm, Oil on canvas

Lucinda, classically trained at the National Art School in Sydney, is a full-time artist, working from her studio on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Her creative process begins with an inspiring detail; a beautiful colour combination, an eye-catching composition or a scene that evokes emotion. Sometimes it is a memory, at other times a piece of poetry or simply something that pops up on the computer. The inspiration often already determines the perfect medium to follow through with the concept.

On A Hot Summer's Night Lucinda Leveille Art

On A Hot Summer’s Night | 76 x 101cm, Oil on canvas

“I love the smell of the new canvas. All I do is get a brush with paint and I sketch. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes I have to redo it several times,” Lucida described. “I have moved to a more simple, complementary palette. I love the blue and orange palette at the moment. Whatever that orange or blue might be.”

A Safe Haven | 183 x 122cm, Oil on canvas

“I want to learn from each piece. I often work on several pieces all at once. I love to work in layers as it adds more richness to the painting. Then again, it means that I do have to wait for things to dry,” she continued.

Summer Skies | 50 x 50cm, Oil on canvas

Lucinda believes that the diversity of her work is a reflection of her own personality. “What you see in my paintings is like a stillness, much like in my personality. It is a self-awareness thing for me,” she explained. “When I play with the watercolours, I express a lot of happy dancing. With oils, then again, I am more connected with their flow, the way they blend. Oils are the perfect medium for the powerful and emotional clouds in my landscapes. [The oils] depict the emotional churning that goes on. They are the channels for strong emotions and opinions. I love working with the pigments and the vehicles they represent to me. They are yummo!”

Garden Joy | 56 x 76cm, Watercolour on paper

Lucinda runs art classes from her studio and tutors others in their creative path. “It is wonderful to support someone else’s creativity. I have to go back and refresh my own knowledge to be able to help someone else and it allows me to find new inspiration all the time. My own paintbrush gets a bit itchy when I run the classes!”

Blue Dusk | 76 x 101cm, Oil on canvas

Over the years Lucinda has exhibited widely, including a number of solo exhibitions on the Gold Coast and in Melbourne. Her artworks are held in collections in England, Spain and America. In Australia her works can be found in Parliament House, Canberra; The Treasury, Canberra; Gold Coast Council Public Library and the Gold Coast Marine Rescue to name a few.