Leslie's Bio

First trained in art therapy, Leslie traveled and worked in Asia before focusing on the study of Tibetan thangka painting. She uses silks and brocades blended with painting, based on techniques found in Eastern Diabetes creates thangkas, seascapes, portraits, as well as environmental art using silk applique techniques.  Presently living in Asia and the Island of Maui, Hawaii, Leslie creates fresh imagery that brings together her many influences, using silk appliqué for Buddhist images, environmental works, Seascapes and unique appliqué Portraits. Two new Tibetan art projects in Tibet are current. Tsurphu and Kathog "My culture is diverse and eclectic as are my genes and travels. As an artist, I have enjoyed a luxury of opportunity. Presently, I rejoice in a new exploration, creating through different themes and boundaries with the same box of tools evolved through time, travel and teachings. "The healing property of the image has always seemed to me as a creative, releasing, transforming process as well as a rewarding visual space." First, building the dimensions of the piece by assembling different parts of a silk puzzle. The emphasis is on developing a strong composition. Second, bringing the silk elements together into a unified work with shading and brush work following the Tibetan thangka painting tradition. Balancing the appliqué with the painting techniques into a satisfying visual experience is both challenging and rewarding and it brings many technical discoveries. This art form is a natural progression from my work in Tibet. There, we were an inspired team, working to build an architectural and religious project (see past projects). From Tibet To Maui and back again I was inspired by the freedom I found within the limits of tradition and careful measurement. Now, it is exciting to discover the potential in fusing techniques. The silks and brocades I use are the same materials I worked with in the Tibet projects. Every day there is a resonance of that experience in my work, a continuity of style, materials, techniques and imagery. A reminder that all creative events are so closely interconnected, though not obviously so. Now, back in a personal space, I am digesting these experience and influences. The intrinsic healing qualities and overwhelming presence and beauty of the tropical valley around me inspires me to play, explore and create. Now with our second studio in Chiang Mai Thailand I am able to continue to make applique thangkas (tangkas), portaits, environmental works, as well as continuing to make contributions to Tibet, through our Tsurphu Monastery, and Kathog Monastery projects. There are two steps in the process of childhood, my experience had been a continuum of scribbling, forming, experimenting with materials and the delights of image making. Growing up within the influences of a family of artists, I chose to develop my passions and skills within the domain of art as therapy. Here I understood that deep shifting is possible through creative experience. Yet, over time, Buddhist principles and motivations became equally important to me and opened me to the opportunity and choice to study Tibetan sacred painting. The involved study of Tibetan art seemed to be the antithesis to splashing the endless pit of emotions onto cheap papers. Here was a unique opportunity to work with meaningful symbols, representations of psychological states through the deities, the esoteric of sacred geometry, the alchemy and color therapy of painting with mineral pigments.Bringing all these elements into a healing image, charged with the power of intent and the discipline of practice, seemed to grow the therapeutic basis for art and formed a natural progression in my own creativity. Presently, the creative practice I have evolved is an integration of my experiences and thoughts around psychology and art into a spiritual space. Leslie accepts commissioned work in both traditional and contemporary forms in sizes ranging from small to monumental. To view a series of studies by Leslie, click here.