Leah Nadeau

Leah Nadeau is a visual artist working primarily in acrylic and oil pastel. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she is currently based in the Portland, Oregon area. Storytelling is the foundation of her work. Film, music, and synesthesia shape a visceral response, compelling her to translate emotion onto the canvas. Her practice is rooted in perception, beginning with how she experiences sound, color, and emotion before they become words.
Leah shares her work and story through a widely engaged social media platform that functions as an extension of her practice rather than a simple archive. Diagnosed with ADHD and OCD at a young age, she has lived with neurodivergence her entire life. Rather than viewing it as a limitation, she draws strength from the ways it shapes her perception, creativity, and connection with others. Vulnerability and resilience are not themes she performs; they are values that inform how she shows up—both in her work and in the world.Deeply inspired by music and synesthesia, Leah often enters a state of flow when emotionally moved by sound. Her background in film theory informs a narrative approach to composition, while recurring motifs in her work, bridges as symbols of connection, and the rigid geometry of urban arc...

BA in Media Studies from Univeristy of San Francisco
MA in Film from Abserystwyth University

2026: Palm Springs Modernism Show at Modernism Week

2024: Women United Artist Movement Solo Show

2023: Side Rail Collective- Georgetown Art Attack Group Exhibition
All About Women-  Juried Group Exhibition 
Marin Society of Artists
Exhibizone- Curves 2023 Group Exhibition2022

West Seattle Art Walk: Solo Exhibition

2021: Henry Ford Cancer Center Pavillion: permanent artist residency 
Roaring Artist Gallery: Powerful Little Things Exhibition & Market 

Participant Lions and Rabbits Art Gallery:  Artist residency at Cityflats Hotel in Grand Rapids, MI (through August 2022)

Detroit Artists Market: Holiday Market Exhibitor

2020: Brewery Fasian: Solo exhibition, Detroit, MI

The Lemon Tree: Solo exhibition, South Lyon, MI

2019: Great Lakes Coffee Co: Solo exhibition, Detroit, MI.

2017: Small Wonders: Group exhibition, Grosse Pointe, MI

2016: Art Liaisons Gallery:  Winter Gallery Featured Exhibitor, San Carlos, CA

Art Liasons Gallery: University Art Group Exhibition, June and July,  Palo Alto, California