Linda Leslie has been studying classical figurative painting for over three decades. Her educational background includes studies at the Art Students’ League and the National Academy in New York. She moved from the east coast to Santa Fe in 1994 and has studied there with David Leffel, Sherri McGraw, Tony Ryder and Geoffrey Laurence.

One might consider Leslie a traditional artist, with her often nostalgic imagery, but the viewer must see the bigger picture… within these works lays a masterful abstractionist. A subtle palette and confident mark-making create a dynamic interplay of subject and ground.

Working with a simple traditional palette in her recent paintings, Leslie creates a sense of air in a tonalist fashion without heavy darks and lights. As the work evolves the history of change on the canvas contributes to the underlying story written in layers of paint.

One could visualize a Linda Leslie painting on the cover of an early 19th century romance novel, yet the unique character of the artist is that her sensibility, characteristic elements and process clearly span the last two centuries. Her preparations of the palette itself are symbolic of bridging that gap.

Artist Statement:

The feeling of a painting is what is important to me. My images are not based on a visual reality, but on emotion.

I have an increasing sense of letting go, of trusting my abilities and intuition. I liberally allow the composition to change. The work is more fresh as a result.

I am grateful to be able to follow this path of fantasy, romance and beauty.

Process:

In my working process I start with a figure and basic composition. I hire a model and do preliminary drawings of the pose. My partner, John, will take a photo of the model to be used as reference. I transfer the drawing to the canvas and paint in the figure, bringing the model back as needed.

I have an increasing sense of letting go, of trusting my abilities and intuition. I liberally allow the composition to change. The work is more fresh as a result.

I’ve introduced animals into the scenes with the figures, occasionally using equine sculptures created by my father, James Leslie, as models.

My paintings are often enveloped in hand-crafted wooden frames made by my son, James Leslie Dubosque. They compliment my paintings in that the execution is based in tradition, yet the resulting piece is contemporary.

In these ways I feel a sense of multi-generational collaboration woven into my work.

- Linda Leslie

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