If you’re looking for subtle art that blends into the room or matches your living room couch…..forget it. Artist, Lenee Nicklaus-Ball, is out to “grab your attention, give you feelings of enjoyment and energize you”. The energy comes from within. She is an owner of St. Petersburg’s Sirata Beach Resort, mother of two teenage sons, and a world traveler who finds time to sit on four local boards….she could give pep talks to the Energizer bunny.

Even if you are in motion and moving fast, it’s hard to walk by her work. Maybe it is the pieces of mirror that catch your eye, or the electric neon tubing and bright acrylics. Ignoring the contemporary abstract artist is not an option.

Contributing critic to the New York Times, William Zimmer, calls her “a fine colorist whose palette naturally tends toward the tropical”, and says, “She has an energy which she is able to impart to any material with which she works.”

The Pittsburgh native has found a following. The Tampa Bay area is as receptive to her, as tourists are to our sunny days and beautiful beaches. At Mangia Restaurant in St. Petersburg, her paintings line the faux gold walls. A favorite of customers is “Tribute to Minisky”. The large painting shows a figure of a woman standing in a bathtub. A neon light outlines contours of the body. When you unplug the picture, the neon looks like deep, strong shades of paint. A few miles away at Central Avenue Oyster Bar customers are familiar with her paintings. There’s one in the lobby, another in the dining room and a third at the bar. You can’t miss them. The pictures are painted on drywall boards that are 8 feet high and 8 feet long, giving the restaurant a New Orleans goes to the Caribbean kind of look. Manager Scott Long loves her work. “She has a great sense of color. They’re very cool pictures and the response is fabulous”.

“I’m not the artist you call if you want a portrait, but if you’re into abstract I can do it.” She also does work on commission, from $500 to $5,000. You can find her pieces hanging in houses around the Bay, and on walls as far away as Europe. Closer to home she sunk her teeth into a project aimed at educating the public about sea turtles. For the “Tampa Bay Tour of Turtles” Lenee created Lady Liberty Libby. Libby is a six-foot turtle made of glass pebbles, with layers of paint in the colors of the sea and sky. It’s on display at City Hall in North Redington Beach.

Listen to her talk about her craft and it is clear she found her passion at a young age. “When I was a little girl I loved to do artwork. It is the love of my life; something I need to do, it feeds my soul”. When the hunger hits, she bypasses the kitchen and walks into the 600 square foot studio in her home. And when she works, there’s always a crowd. Her Keeshond Boxer, White Shepard, Great Dane and Chihuahua all serve as her audience. “I joke that my trademark is dog hair. If it doesn’t have dog hair on it, I didn’t do it”.

If she’s feeling less than motivated, inspiration is just a few steps from her studio on the Boca Ciega Bay. “I’ll sit outside on my balcony and watch the ripples in the water, the sun setting. I’m fascinated by the reflections, movement and light.” Lenne’s self-described eclectic form may not change, (an art teacher told her there’s remarkable consistency in her style with strokes, lines and colors) but the woman who abhors the mundane will always surprise. She has created ceramics, purses, and decorative boxes. Boring is not a word that will ever describe the art or artist. She knows exactly what she’s after and it’s almost a sure bet she’ll get it. “I just want to continue to be creative and have my work appreciated. That’s all I need.”