For those who might not be familiar with your work, can you give us a little background on your journey as an artist and what inspires you as a painter?

As a small child I gravitated to art to ease my nervous energy and so you would often find me doodling. In middle school I started drawing mazes on lined paper. They were very stiff and followed the lines that were already laid down. My teacher pulled me aside and showed me what he called a brain maze. It was a maze composed of small curving lines which had no boundaries, and my heart quickened. I loved the fluidity of it and the idea that I could draw it anywhere excited me. I immediately went back to my desk and started drawing them. Page after page after page of these brain mazes which I handed out to my classmates who were eager to solve them.

Over the years I continued to draw repetitive forms throughout high school, doodling on my paper bag book covers and even had a little side business of doodling with black sharpie on girls Levi’s for extra lunch money. As I got older I started dabbling in as many art forms as I could afford. I painted in watercolor, made jewelry, took pottery classes and then went to art school where I majored in photography and painting while also taking as many print making classes as I could squeeze into my hectic schedule. 

During my last year of college, I discovered Encaustic and was completely in love with the medium. I immersed myself in it and was a full-time encaustic artist for 13 years. Then back in 2017 when I was getting ready to gesso one of my large Birch panels, I noticed how beautiful the grain was, and I hesitated. What lay before me was a plane of undulating lines far more interesting than anything I could draw from my own mind. It was as if the tree had created its own abstract composition and it was asking me to work within these lines. I immediately picked up a pen and started drawing. 

I can’t describe to you what it feels like to draw with a felt tip pen on wood. The scratching sound it makes as the tip passes over every single wood fiber. I was instantly in love with the sound and the feel of it. While mazing It’s imperative that you remain absolutely present in order to maintain the right amount of pressure while simultaneously making sure that your lines are an equal distance apart. I couldn’t put my pen down and when I did I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again.

Your paintings often have such a strong sense of place and atmosphere. What is it about certain landscapes or scenes that catch your eye and make you want to capture them?

As an abstract artist I am drawn to nature. Living on an island in the Pacific Northwest, I am surrounded by an abundance of beauty. It’s impossible to not be inspired by it. Whidbey island is very windy, and the tide is constantly in a state of flux so the beaches are a treasure trove for an artist and the cloud formations are always magnificent. But each piece starts with the wood grain and the story that the tree has given me to work with.

How do you go about choosing your color palette? Do you follow a specific process, or is it more intuitive?

After years of creating very colorful Encaustic paintings it felt amazing to just use black. I wanted to emphasize the beautiful color of the wood itself and not detract from the subtle tones in the grain. In the last year I’ve started adding gold and white to some of my pieces. The gold Acrylic paint I chose to use has a really beautiful visual shift when walking past it. In shadow it looks like a shade of brown but as it catches the light it shines a very pleasing coppery-gold. For white I went with a matte enamel called Oxman. It feels like a pop of fresh, crisp white which reminds me of snow.

I start by scanning the grain on a fresh Birch wood panel. It’s often hard to choose which I will highlight to become a prevalent part of the overall composition. Allowing the wood itself to influence the work gives me a bit of comfort. It’s a collaboration between what I have been given and my own artistic expression. I do not use pencil, instead I choose to just use pen so my lines are more organic and spontaneous. It forces me to not overthink or stifle the unexpected creativity that flows from being in the moment. Once my overall composition has been laid down, then my favorite part beings, the meditative healing power of just drawing repetitive lines. Line after line after line that twist and curve their way along the edge of a slowly growing maze, spreading over the surface like a thin black veil. This process brings me peace, I crave it. It slow my thoughts and allows me to sink deeper into the creative process.

Your work beautifully balances between abstraction and realism, often exploring themes that blur the line between the two. How do you determine where that line falls in each piece, and what ideas or new directions have been fueling your creativity lately?

I enjoy blurring the concept of “perceived” imagery, purposefully creating forms which totter between various shapes; leaf, wing, petal, butterfly, wave, wind, stream; to name a few. Often in nature if you take a thing out of it’s surroundings you would have no idea what it was by just looking at it. I add in organic shapes to make you wonder. It’s more important that I express a mood over an actual place. 

When someone stands in front of your painting, what do you hope they feel or think? What kind of experience do you want your art to create for the viewer?

My hope is that the viewer will feel a sense of calmness. In a world filled with constant stimulus and an unrelenting rush to see more, do more, have more and be more I want to pause that narrative and give them a moment to just be still for a minute. Allow their eyes to get lost in the lines and slowly glide over the surface while they breath. Let the piece lull their eyes and quiet their minds.

Leslie’s work is more than just visual; it’s an invitation to slow down, explore, and find moments of stillness. Her passion for organic forms and natural beauty translates into pieces that are not only stunning but also meditative in nature.

Whether you’re drawn in by the unique combination of abstraction and realism or curious to unravel the hidden maze within each piece, her art is a journey worth taking. Stay tuned for more as she continues to push boundaries, blur the lines of perception, and create art that truly resonates.