Philippa Nikulinsky was born in Kalgoorlie in 1942. She began her career as a natural history illustrator in the mid-1970s, specializing in plants from arid environments. Her illustrations have appeared in numerous books, scientific journals, and magazines. Notably, from 1990 to 2012, she created cover artwork for Landscope, a journal published by the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management. Her work has also graced the cover of Curtis, the journal of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, UK. Philippa has authored and co-authored books on plants, animals, and their environments.

Her career has been driven by a lifelong fascination with the flora and fauna of Western Australia's arid regions. Philippa has traveled extensively across the vast state to capture its remarkable natural history through drawings and paintings.

Philippa contributed to Flora of Australia and authored a monograph on Banksia menziesii (Firewood Banksia). She also provided illustrations and text for Life on the Rocks (with Stephen Hopper) and published a large-format art book, Soul of the Desert.

Much of Philippa’s work explores the ecological relationships between plants and their environments, characterized by intricate detail and a sense of spontaneity. Her book Cape Arid, focused on one of her favorite national parks, includes paintings by her husband Alex Nikulinsky and is displayed at COMO The Treasury Hotel in Perth. Philippa primarily works in watercolors.

From 1995 to 2005, Philippa designed and painted Australian plants and animals for dinnerware produced by Australian Fine China.

In 2011, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Philippa’s limited edition publication Wildflowers of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia was presented to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, by the Premier of Western Australia.

Philippa was appointed a Member (AM) in the Order of Australia in 2016, recognizing her significant service to the visual arts as a botanical painter and illustrator, as well as her contributions to professional associations and authorship.

2019 was a landmark year for Philippa. Her survey exhibition, Nikulinsky Naturally, at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery attracted over 28,000 visitors. The monograph Nikulinsky Naturally: An Artist’s Life (edited by Ted Snell) sold out during the exhibition and was later republished by Fremantle Press. That same year, she released Nikulinsky Unfolded: Xanthorrhoea, a 4+ metre concertina book that contrasts the elegance of unburnt leaves with the stark beauty of bushfire-affected sand dunes.

Philippa also received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Western Australia and delivered a graduate address in 2019. Her work is featured on a range of Australian-made greeting cards and other products by the Studio Nikulinsky