Philippa Nikulinsky facts for kids

Philippa Mary Nikulinsky (born in 1942) is a talented artist and a special kind of illustrator. She draws and paints plants, which is called being a botanical illustrator. She lives in Western Australia.

About Philippa Nikulinsky

Philippa Nikulinsky was born in 1942 in Kalgoorlie. This is a faraway place in the middle of Western Australia. In the mid-1970s, she started drawing nature. She became very good at drawing plants that grow in tough places. Her amazing drawings have been in many books and magazines. She has also written or helped write books about plants, animals, and their homes. She even drew the cover art for a magazine called Landscope and other science papers.

Her Love for Western Australia's Nature

Philippa has always loved the plants and animals of the dry lands in Western Australia. For almost 50 years, she has traveled all over this huge state. She goes to find, draw, and paint its amazing nature. She has shared her skill in watercolour painting. She does this by teaching, holding art shows, creating special artworks, and publishing books.

Important Contributions and Artworks

Philippa Nikulinsky has helped with the Flora of Australia. This is a big project that lists all the plants in Australia. She wrote a book about a plant called Banksia menziesii, also known as Firewood Banksia. She also drew pictures and wrote for a book called Life on the Rocks with Stephen Hopper. Another large art book she made is called Soul of the Desert.

Many of her artworks show several living things together. This helps to show how they live and work with each other. Her drawings are known for having lots of tiny details. But they still look natural and not stiff. Like many botanical artists, she mostly uses watercolour paints.

Royal Recognition

In 2011, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Perth. This was for a meeting called CHOGM. The leader of Western Australia gave the Queen a special gift. It was a limited edition book by Philippa called ‘Wildflowers of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia’. This gift was from the government and people of Western Australia.

Her newest art collection is called Cape Arid. It includes paintings by her husband, Alex Nikulinsky. This collection is kept at the famous COMO The Treasury Hotel in Perth. In 2016, Prince Charles opened the hotel. He was given a painting from this special series.

Special Award

On January 26, 2016, Philippa Nikulinsky received a special award. She was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia. This award was given to her "for important work in visual arts as a botanical painter and illustrator, for helping art groups, and as an author."

Ceramics

From 1995 to 2005, Philippa Nikulinsky designed and painted Australian plants and animals. These designs were used on dinnerware (plates and dishes) made by Australian Fine China. These beautiful dishes were sold all over the world.

Her Published Works

From 1990 to 2006, Philippa Nikulinsky painted the cover picture for the quarterly magazine ‘Landscope’. This magazine was for the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management. In 2004, she was asked to paint a flower called leschenaultia. This painting was for the May 2004 edition of ‘Curtis’. This magazine is made by the Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom.

Banksia menziesii Book

Philippa Nikulinsky has been highly praised for her work on the book Banksia menziesii. In this book, she showed every step of the plant's life cycle. Drawing the flowers of banksias is thought to be one of the hardest things to paint. The short text in the book comes with amazing drawings. Both the front and back pages of the book show a seed of the plant.

Books by Philippa Nikulinsky

Here are some of the books Philippa Nikulinsky has written or illustrated:

• Flowering Plants of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia: Goldfields of Western Australia. (1986) ISBN: 978-0-9592644-0-1
• BANKSIA MENZIESII (1992) ISBN: 978-1-86368-035-6.
• Life on the Rocks: The Art of Survival (1999) with Stephen D. Hopper. ISBN: 978-1-86368-258-9.
• Wildflowers in Watercolour (November 2000) ISBN: 978-1-86368-320-3.
• 1999 Australian Wildflower Diary (2000) ISBN: 978-1-86368-231-2.
• Soul of the Desert (October 2005) with Stephen D. Hopper. ISBN: 978-1-921064-06-7
• Cape Arid (2012) with Alex Nikulinsky. ISBN: 978-1-922089-00-7

See also

• List of Australian botanical illustrators