Artworks by Leah Nadeau

I started painting during my master’s program in film, in the middle of writing a 75,000-word thesis. I turned to painting as a way to escape the weight of words. What I didn’t expect was that it wouldn’t feel like an escape at all. It felt like coming home. Until then, I thought writing was my creative language. Painting showed me that color, form, and composition were the ways I was meant to speak. Since then, I've been on a journey of discovery, painting daily not only to express myself but also to connect with other people. Being an artist is really about connecting with others about how we experience life. I create because art became my lifeboat. What began as a break from writing during graduate school became the way I learned to survive and express myself fully. Painting gave me a space where I could exist without over-explaining. Through color and geometry, I build order out of chaos. I create a connection where there is distance. I make something solid in a world that often feels unstable. Art isn’t a hobby for me. It’s a necessity.