Leila’s paintings are full of vibrant, saturated colour and expressive, lustrous brushwork. She uses colour to convey her emotional response to a subject, processing her own sensations in colour harmonies and colour clashes. Her paintings are a reflection of her enthusiasm for the world around her - a new day is an opportunity for a new visual experience. “I get up early, excited to see how the sunrise will light up my garden, and the colours it will reveal to me”.
When painting, she feels both uplifted and grounded, and in turn, she wants her paintings to calm the mind and spark the senses. “I love how placing one colour against another can make them pulse, creating an energy that radiates off the canvas. My mind goes quiet and my senses come alive. That’s why I love painting!”.
Leila’s passion for painting began at the age of 11, when she won a set of oils in a national art competition. The smell of oils still transports her back to that first set and her discovery of the joy of painting. Though art was her passion throughout her school years, Leila initially studied History of Art and English at the University of Nottingham, and after graduating, worked at Condé Nast Publications, immersed in the visual culture of magazines. At 25 the pull of painting proved too strong, and she swapped the glamour of magazines for the paint-splattered walls of art college, and committed to art fully.
Leila studied Fine Art Painting at Chelsea College of Art (University of the Arts London) for her Bachelor of Fine Art, and then took her Master of Fine Art at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art.
Her work has featured in Country Life magazine’s ‘My Favourite Painting’, and commissions include a portrait of Dame Zandra Rhodes and artwork for the Jockey Club and Cheltenham Racecourse.
Born and brought up in London, Leila now lives in Surrey with her husband, three children, and dog Alfie. She is inspired by the shifting seasonal light of the English countryside, and the brighter light and new colours discovered in her travels abroad.
Leila is represented by Buckingham Fine Art. Original paintings are available at Aura Fine Art, Buckingham Fine Art, Cotswolds Contemporary, Soho Fine Art and select independent galleries.
Leila’s art licensing is represented by Bridgeman Images.
“I love how placing one colour against another can make them pulse, creating an energy that radiates off the canvas. My mind goes quiet and my senses come alive. That’s why I love painting!”