We recently connected with Leslie Fitzsimmons and have shared our conversation below.

Leslie, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

A significant and exciting point in my art practice took place last year, when I co-curated the exhibition LOCUS with fellow artist and good friend, Brett Piva. Piva and I have shared admiration for each other’s art practices since meeting about 5 years ago in Newcastle, Australia. Early on, we knew that we would to develop a group show together as our ideas and artwork are complementary.

At the beginning of 2022, we began to develop our show which focused on contemporary responses to connection with the Australian landscape. We soon recognized exploring this theme with likeminded artists, working in a variety of mediums, would meaningfully enhance our concept. Painters, photographers, object designers, makers and sculptors joined us with one prerequisite – to experiment on newly developed approaches within our individual practices. The opening of LOCUS showcased expressive and eloquent artwork, with advanced directions in our making.

I greatly enjoyed working with artists from my community, getting the opportunity to come together and celebrate our shared fascination with the Australian landscape. To be informed by each other’s practice and motivate one another to push to our next levels. Co-curating LOCUS was also significantly fulfilling after years of constant forward momentum, building my career as an artist.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been a lifelong artist. At one point, I decided to study graphic design which lead to getting a degree in Visual Art Education. I worked in galleries, museums, and art centres both in the United States and Australia, with roles from teaching, to gallery management, to education and public programming. I absolutely loved every minute and continue to stay engaged with that side of my career.

I became a full time artist in 2018. Mostly because I felt the calling and decided to move in that direction. I am predominately an abstract watercolor artist. Through my practice, I explore my connection to nature and place. My artworks are my unique response to the visual experience I have when immersed in a landscape. Color, shape and line dominate the works, and are the ways in which I experience and recognize the world around me.

Towards the end of 2021, I felt that I had become proficient in my painting technique and began to seek further exploration in my practice. I began to work with thoughtful repetition and emphasis on colour relationships, merging my established abstract paintings with geometric pattern making. A visual language that is my own.

I continue to evolve my practice by experimenting with new materials and introducing a three-dimensional approach through sculpture and wall reliefs in response to my studies of layers and forms found within the landscape.

Now living and working in Denver, Colorado, I recently completed an artist residency at Art District on Santa Fe resulting in a class show, Emanate, which opened February First Friday. I am currently working on a new body of work – focused on layers, forms and innovative ways of presenting my art – for my solo show in September at Art Gym Denver.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I simply want to see what I can do. I’m really happy with what I’ve produced so far and who I’ve met along the way, and genuinely feel it can only get better.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The process of making my art. I thrive when I’m in a constant flow, when I turn up to the studio every day, when I’m creating so much that my mind can think of nothing else. It’s the best feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: lesliefitzsimmons.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/lesliefitzsimmonsart
• Facebook: facebook.com/lesliefitzsimmonsart
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Shan Rose Photography, Stephanie Tappouras