Northern California native Jeffery Leonard is a free spirit who would rather sleep on the ground under the stars than stay in a hotel. He is an outdoorsman in every sense of the word, who has a passion for experiencing and preserving open space whenever possible. “Untouched natural open space is disappearing”, Leonard explains, “I am interested in spending my time in that space, helping preserve what is left, and of course, capturing the beauty in my paintings.”
Leonard is a self taught artist who is inspired by the sheer simplicity of a natural setting. He is a constant traveler who paints both indoors, and pleine-aire where he can be physically immersed in his subject. He is a wanderer who creates imagery wherever he happens to land. Still, Leonard’s work is not random or unplanned. He searches for the untouched stream, the sheen of the morning sun on a dew laden meadow, or the majesty of an old growth tree to provide the inspiration for his work. “I paint a scene as I see it, but my compositions are not always literal reality,” Leonard says, “I want my paintings to allow the viewer to escape, for a moment, to a place they cannot travel to in their every day life.”
The Jeffery Leonard Collection
