Leslie Anderson

Artist Statement

Born and raised in Guatemala City, Central America, Leslie Anderson’s first job was as an elementary school teacher. Moving to Florida in the mid ‘80s to continue her education, she received a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design and a Master’s in Art Education and Art Therapy at Florida State University. Combining her passion for teaching and art, Anderson worked for the public school system as an art teacher for over 29 years; she retired in September 2020.
Her experience in interior design, art education and the day-to-day work in being a full time art teacher have allowed her to work on various mediums, however, her passion has always been painting. These past years, as her two children left home, she found the needed time and space to pursue her art.
Elements of art are stylistic features that are included within an art piece to help the artist communicate. She loves working with color. Color can provoke enormous reactions in people; this only intensifies with the addition of playful and in many cases seductive lines in her work.

I love abstract paintings that offer a whisper of nature. As I begin my paintings, I work in an intuitive fashion. As the work continues, I let the painting speak to me and let it develop to the final phase. This process does not come easy every time. Sometime during the creative process, there is a period in which the work goes through an ugly phase. This is the most critical time and the one I enjoy the most. I often say that the work of an artist is mostly “problem solving”.