Bio's

Leslie’s natural talent showed in her sketches and drawings of animals as a child. In her teens she began using oil paints and she taught herself how to paint realistically. She soon went beyond realism to ‘Super or Surrealism’, some have termed it ‘Magic Realism’. Watercolour is her principal medium, although recently, she has been caught dabbling in oils again. Leslie transforms the ‘Everyday’ into something Magical and Mystical. As if seeing into the very spirit of her subjects, she feels her art into existence. She says "very few painting are planned, I let them happen". Having developed a technique of subtly layering colours, she is able to give the strongest brightest colours a quality of translucent delicacy. Primarily a self-taught artist, Leslie has also attended Cariboo College in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. There she studied design, drawing, painting and art history.

Technique

As a natural Artist I rely on the inner sight and feel to make a painting. From a blank paper/canvas I first of all feel which color will be right to start the painting. This is not a planned painting where you have everything sketched out, these are literally out of the blue. One color at a time is added until it feels right, sometimes the whole paper/canvas is covered with rich colors. I then let the painting rest. Some time will pass before I’ll pick it up and look at it. Then that is where the magic begins. I will immediately see something in the painting that just has to come out. It is just as much of a surprise to me as it is to the viewer what might emerge.
That’s when I manipulate the image into what I see by layering color as well as pulling it off in areas that I wish it off. I am very skilled at this technique. Enjoy!

 My out-of-the-blue paintings are my favorite. I love them. 

Joanne Murphy welcomes you to a celebration of her creations!

Allow me to introduce myself and my art to you. Having grown up with an artistic family on a ranch and later in a small town I feel nature, animals and people are truly the inspirations of my work. Even as a small child I loved the old masters. Favorites of mine have always been Da Vinci, Bernini, Boucher and Dali to name a few. I love the Romantic and Baroque eras with their fantastic sense of color, atmosphere and mood. I enjoy borrowing, if you will, a partial section or subject from a period piece and changing the scene or the story to make it my own. I challenge myself to stay true to the style of the original piece. By doing such paintings gives me lessons in discipline, edges and warm and cool shadows. I enjoy the challenge of these classical styles yet after painting a few in a row it is time to reward myself. I do this by painting something much less formal and focused. These images where not every detail needs completed nor the entire surface needs covered are celebrations of freedom and color. To be able to party with colors in a looser format gives me a sense of “no rules allowed”. I do believe a foundation of good drawing skills is the key to good results in any medium. Values, shapes and good composition are the building blocks that construct a strong piece. Knowing what edges need to be hard or soft will also aide in perspective and help guide the viewer. I paint in a smooth style that has at times tricked the viewer into thinking they were looking at a print on canvas yet it is the original. Although I use a number of mediums and have a large diversity of subject matter I feel this supports the true artist within and allows me to paint from the heart. My main medium is acrylic. Please share in my celebration of creations!