Having been raised on a horse farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, immersed in nature’s bounty, she soon began expressing her love of nature through her art. Leslie was formally trained at the Philadelphia College of Art, specifically in illustration, gaining inspiration by the network of commercial artists surrounding her. She quickly began freelancing around Philadelphia, honing her skills and developing her style. In these early days, Leslie created pieces for such clients and organizations as large and varied as the United States Equestrian Team, Fisher Price Toys, and Merck, Sharp, and Dome Pharmaceuticals.
Her commercially oriented watercolors and ink on paper illustrations were acclaimed in Chester and Lycoming County Pennsylvania where she produced numerous identity packages and instructional brochures for the Hershey and Geisinger Health Systems.
After a brief tenure in North Carolina, Leslie and family settled in West Virginia where a new experience rejuvenated her love of nature. Partaking in the rehabilitation of injured great birds and raptors allowed her to explore a new topic in her beloved genre. Her portfolio, now totaling over one hundred illustrations, shifted as she began producing complete books ranging from medical illustration to wildlife and children’s books. With a growing family of three young and beautiful children and her own 22 acre farm complete with horses, cats, chickens and Jack Russells, Leslie began to utilize these incredible images out her own backdoor as inspiration. Watercolor and egg tempra became her favored mediums as she produced exceptional wildlife and domestic recreations. While participating with local artists groups and completing work for printed publications, public television and advertising, Leslie produced many published illustrations.
In 2000 Leslie moved with her family to the coastal town of North Yarmouth, Maine, where thirty years earlier, she had spent her honeymoon. Leslie produced three children’s books and numerous illustrations for educational posters used in high school English classes. Never wanting to give up her love of nature, Leslie’s new farm, Renaissance Springs, became filled with horses, cats, chickens and her beloved Jack Russells. Surrounded by her favorites, Leslie used her techniques with watercolor and egg tempra to create a new reflection series of nature, a new children’s book and many commissioned illustrations. Her most recent work is commissioned illustrations of birds of prey that has seen her work spreading across North America.
Having lived a life surrounded by nature, she captures wildlife and domestic scenes with the colors and exquisite detail that they truly appear in. Leslie states that, “Nature provides the colors and beauty we all take for granted, and hopefully I will continue to capture its beauty and grandeur from all angles for many, many years to come.”
