Leslie Blackwell has lived in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario and has been drawing and painting since childhood. She completed a B.A.(Honours) in Art History at Carleton University, and a B.Ed. in Visual Art at Queen’s. Her teaching career has taken her down many paths as her art background has informed her teaching.
Travels in Canada, Europe and the U.K. have inspired her work. An enduring passion is her attachment to the landscape of our region, and the Gatineau hills in particular, where she hikes, paddles and snowshoes.
Along with her studies in Art History, Leslie has taken many studio courses over the years, exploring printmaking and various painting media. She works in watercolour, pen and wash, mixed media and pastel, inspired by the landscape traditions of these media. She often sketches outdoors and takes photographs when planning a painting, or finishes the work en plein air. Her work has been exhibited in several juried exhibitions, such as Art Lending of Ottawa, the Mayor’s Art Festival (2005) and For the Love of the Farm (2012). She is currently a member of the Ottawa Art Association.
“Exploring the green spaces of our region, especially the Gatineau, inspires me to express my response to places, times and seasons. My aim is to distill the emotional quality of light in nature and the beauty of places which are important to me. I hope viewers will experience their own emotional response to my work.”
Website: leslieblackwell.ca
Email:leslieblckwll@gmail.com
