Leigha Nicole
Leigha Nicole is an artist based in Crestone, Colorado, USA whose career and professional education in dance, yoga and bodywork brought her to different parts of Asia starting in 1983, which planted countless seeds of artistic curiosity.
Dr. Ning Yeh, the Emmy-Award winning art professor has been her main influence and teacher in the Po Mo (throw ink) style of Hsieh-I Chinese Brush Painting, with whom she studied with since, 1990 at UCLA, Cerritos and Coastline Colleges. She is a devoted student of Ning's and travels to study with him as much as possible.
She was a scenic painter for the Yani Forbidden City Concert Tour '97 in Beijing, China. Also, she painted scenery for and participated in the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics '98 in Nagano, Japan. She is a working member of the Crestone Artisans Gallery and she has had several solo art shows in California and Colorado. Leigha has been featured in many shows at the stunning art gallery at Shumei International Institute in Crestone, Colorado and has taught virtual Brush Painting classes for Shumei America.
Leigha's art is a combination of traditional Chinese Brush Painting, Japanese Sumi-e and western watercolor. Her work continues to be inspired by her training in traditional Japanese spiritual and cultural art forms. She has been a student of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism since 1990 as well as a student of both the Sogetsu and Ikenobu styles of Ikebana (flower arranging). She is currently an avid practitioner of Chanoyu (tea ceremony) through the Urasenke lineage and continues her studies when possible with Sensei Minako Tsuji in Saratoga, California.
Leigha was recently honored with her Ohikari initiation from Shumei Crestone and looks forward to deeper involvement there as well as sharing healing Jyorei in her yoga and bodywork practice of 4 decades.
Throughly enchanted with the seasonal majestic beauty of southern Colorado, she is sure that the gorgeous scenery will energize her artwork for many years to come.
Leigha teaches small in-person Chinese Brush Painting workshops and classes at her studio in Crestone and offers private and bi-monthly group classes online. To keep up-to-date with Leigha's painting workshops and classes www.splendidartwork.com, subscribe to her mailing list: leighanicole@gmail.com.