leigh hooker - artist

I bring to my canvases a life of seeking. Exploring dimensions of experience both cultural and emotional.

This has melded into an intuitive style of painting.

My life was grounded in family as a wife and mother of five. Always continuing my painting and studies. Now the joy is in the unparalleled power of art to express that inner calling I’ve had all my life really.

The highs, the lows, and everything in between I take to the canvas. After a year with the Milan Art Institute Mastery Program my focus has exploded. I can now bring a broader scope of materials to play, inks, spray paint, acrylics and oils all layered to give the depth I’m seeking.

Some highlights for me are the donation of my painting ‘Look to the Future’ by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Lourdes Hill Girls Christian College in Brisbane. (2010) Resulting in a consequent commission by the school for a contemporary portrait of St.Mary MacKillop.

In 2018 I was commissioned to do a series of 12 portrait murals of Elders and Women for the Waminda Aboriginal Women’s Health and Welfare Centre in Nowra NSW.

Always an earthy artist, I love salty air and sea breezes, woodsmoke and incense and can often be found out on the water with the stand-up paddle, watching the dolphins and stingrays that cruise Lake Wallis. A blessing it is for my partner Russell and I to live with the ocean so close. (Forster/Tuncurry is the traditional home of Russell’s Biripi and Worimi people.)

Currently I’m building my portfolio and following the trail that is my offering.

Brave Inspiration for a busy World.

2021
Current Student, Milan Institute Mastery Program

2010
Diploma of Visual Arts/Fine Art, Sunshine Coast Institute of TAFE