Biography
With a philosophy of lifelong learning, Leslie Dyas has evolved and grown as an artist over the years. From her degree in graphic design, she has pulled a strong sense of composition and dedication to good design in all facets of her art. A somewhat classical aesthetic infuses all her work, even as she strives to bring a sense of freshness and expressiveness to each new painting.
Her graphic design background has given Dyas an ethic of perfection in terms of craft. Handmade oil paints and natural mediums on linen canvas are the artist’s primary tools. A variety of tools are employed, from fine sable brushes to palette knife, to willow sticks…whatever is needed to create the right effect.
Dyas has a degree in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati DAAP. As a successful commercial illustrator and product designer, she has developed her craft over the years and continually studied through workshops and weekly life drawing sessions.
Artist Statement
I paint to capture the fleeting beauty of the world at hand. For me, this brings the tantalizing possibility of unlocking and sharing the mysteries of the unseen world.
For someone who is always on time, I couldn’t have been more surprised to find I was late to the party when it came to seriously pursuing my “fine art side”. Back when I entered college, if you were artistic, you studied graphic design. It’s provided me an excellent foundation (and living), but the pull of purely fine arts has always been there. No regrets about the late start…I recognize now that my design background naturally brings a strong sense of composition and a dedication to good design naturally infuses my art.
It’s important to me not to ascribe to a particular “technique” or “school” of painting. I approach each painting as an opportunity to express the sense of wonder and excitement that the visual world brings to my imagination. It’s there that my best paintings live!
I’m still trying to figure out how to classify or label my style for the rest of the world. I’m naturally drawn to impressionism, realism and classical styles, labels which if you could mix ’em together might give you what I am. Today.
But then you never know about tomorrow.