Leah Doeland's art is pretty magical. The artist says she is "in love with every shade of blue", and it's not hard to see why. Her work is bursting with colour and geometric shapes, making it pretty hard not to be hypnotised by her excellent command of brush strokes and a keen eye for detail. We sat down with the artist to discuss her creative process, as well as her affinity for yarn. 

Hi Leah! Please talk to us a little bit about your artistic journey. I’d say my art journey began as a child, I would spend hours tucked away painting, drawing, or working on a sewing project. Art was by far my favourite subject at school, however I have only pursued art professionally in the last few years. Currently, I spend part of my time working as a practicing artist and am privileged to regularly show in a variety of galleries and exhibitions. I also practice as an art therapist where I assist my clients to find hope, healing, and wholeness through the medium of art. 

What is your favourite medium to work with? Acrylic paint would have to be my current favourite medium to work with, it is just so versatile! I love the way that it can be used thick to create juicy texture, or watered back so it’s smooth and sleek. It also has the ability to be applied to many different surfaces which allows for an abundance of creative freedom!

Your work usually includes a lot of bright colours and detailed scenes of nature. What inspired this style? A few years ago, I embarked on a 365 Instagram challenge with a good friend of mine. My challenge brief was to create something daily and post it, and over the course of the one-year challenge it became evident to me that much of my inspiration is drawn from nature. It is my intention to capture the feeling or the essence of a place, whether it be a natural location, or a Heavenly landscape imagined during my quiet times with God.

How would you describe your creative process? When creating, I walk a tightrope between free and joyful abandonment to refined and considered strokes. I enjoy painting freely without too much structure at the start of a work, choosing my colour palette based on which ever call the loudest at that particular time. I lay down the initial layers of paint loosely, adding water and allowing the paint complete freedom to move on my canvas and create its own scenery. The subsequent layers are more refined and considered. I use colour blocking techniques combined with fine brush marks borrowed from my childhood love of folk art. Blue and green are constant features in my work as I believe this is an unconscious link back to nature.

When you’re not making art, how do you spend your time? My family is my biggest priority, I am blessed to be married to my amazing husband Matt and together we have three incredible children who are currently teens. Life is full, noisy and abundant! We all enjoy spending time together whether it be around the fire belting out some noisy tunes, spending time at one of our beautiful local beaches or enjoying coffee together at our favourite café.

Talk to us about ‘yarn-bombing’. Yarn-bombing is a type of street art that uses yarn or wool as the art medium. Colourful knitted or crocheted pieces are created off site then installed around objects within urban landscapes. My love affair with yarn bombing began during COVID lockdowns, I noticed the positive impact my little yarn bombed tree was having on our neighbourhood. A little bit of silliness was able to spark joy and improve mental health.  

You are going to take part in Port Macquarie’s ArtWalk. What are you looking forward to? ArtWalk this year is going to be huge! I am heading up a large-scale community yarn bomb project. With the help of over 100 local residents, the five massive trees growing down the centre of Murray Street will be encased in an artistic display of crocheted colour, blanketing the street with our love. I also have the privilege of displaying a collection of my art jackets in Four Espresso café, I am part of an exhibition with local artists Skye Petho and Ros Fuhrer called “A Sense of Place” being hosted at Arthouse Industries and a selection of my art is part of a digital display by Cherie Morton in the Glasshouse forecourt.  

What is your favourite and least favourite aspect of being an artist? I adore my creative life. It is such a blessing to have the freedom to explore and express myself each and every day. I would really love if there were a few more hours in each day or an extra day in each week…I have so many ideas and creations waiting to be birthed and such little free time!

Check out more of Leah's work by visiting her Instagram.