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Forty years of lovingly and painstakingly recreating our State’s unique flora and fauna will be celebrated at a special UWA Centenary Trust for Women event next month.

Renowned artist and guest of honour Philippa Nikulinsky will talk about a lifetime of being an artist, but in particular the last four decades in which she has concentrated on WA’s wildflowers, plants and animals.

Philippa recalls going into the bush around her family’s Goldfields house and picking the spectacular wildflowers but she didn’t dedicate herself to them immediately. She painted flowers from people’s gardens and would occasionally drive to Wanneroo and Burns Beach – then mostly bush – to pick wildflowers to paint.

Philippa said she was inspired by two artists in particular: naturalist Ferdinand Bauer, who accompanied Matthew Flinders on his voyage of discovery to Terra Australis in 1801 and created the first European picture of a koala; and contemporary Victorian botanical artist Celia Rosser after whom a species of banksia was named.

“But I have my own style now,” she said. “I like to tell the story of the plant so I draw the whole thing with the insect damage to the leaves and the old nuts. And I love insects.

“While my favourite plant is the one I’m working on, I do have favourite birds: the rainbow bee-eater and the jabiru in the Pilbara. I love watching it on the water.”

Using pencils and water colours, Philippa works in her studio every day. “I look forward to getting there in the morning and go to bed thinking about what I’ll do the next day,” she said. These days she fits her work in around 'granny duty'. She and her artist husband, Alex Nikulinsky, have four sons – Michael, Philip, Gregory and Andrei – all artists, and nine grandchildren aged from eight to 23.

Philippa and Alex have recently finished a book, Cape Arid , which was five years in the making. They spent much time in the south-eastern desert region recording its natural history.

Proceeds from Philippa’s presentation on Thursday 1 November at The University Club from 7pm go toward the UWA Centenary Trust for Women to provide scholarships for women facing financial difficulties while studying here. For information about the event, telephone (+61 8) 6488 2433 or visit the Eventarc website .

Published in UWA News , 15 October 2012