Born in Sydney, at a time when kids went out to play after breakfast and didn’t return home until dinner time, Leslye Cole spent most of her childhood exploring the rocks, waterfalls, flora and fauna of the bushland nature reserve opposite her family home at Lane Cove. This early influence ensured she would only truly feel comfortable surrounded by trees and nature.
At the age of five her drawing of a dog in primary school kindergarten attracted the attention of the teacher who held it up for the class to see. From that moment she knew she would be an artist. Cole’s first mentor, her high school art teacher — a hugely influential arts advocate — cemented the decision. Her nurturing of the individual talents of each student of her class saw most going on to have successful artistic careers. Cole was accepted into both Fine Arts and Graphic Design college after high school graduation, opting for the latter. Her visual landscape revolved around techniques of illustration, design, fonts, graphics and photography in a time before personal computers where the skill was in deft handwork. This lead to a career in advertising as an Art Director in the heady 1980‘s where she would meet a second important mentor, her Creative Director.
An avid art collector, he saw Leslye’s fine art skills and commissioned paintings for his extensive personal collection, demonstrating through his various acquisitions, the importance of the perfect complimentary frame. Seeing art through this collector’s eyes gave Cole a new understanding of the immense joy, pride and meaning felt with choosing and owning an original painting by a long admired artist. His guidance and words continue to be a powerful influence to this day.
After a successful commercial art career working on the world’s leading brands, Cole yearned once again to be surrounded by her beloved trees and nature. Her subject matter increasingly portrayed pastoral themes from photos taken on the many family trips throughout rural NSW, and in 2012 she made a tree change to the Tamworth region, commencing full-time fine art studio practice.
Aesthetic elements absorbed throughout Cole’s career now infiltrate her diverse body of work. Design, colour, and composition are central, but also her expertise in story telling — a skill honed while working as a storyboard artist. Often stirring an emotional response in the viewer, her oeuvre includes narratives observed in the Australian landscape, people who live and work on the land, farm animals, and portraiture. A large portion of her output is private commissions, mostly ordered as a gift, with common feedback being, “the recipient burst into tears of joy”.
A self-taught artist, she paints in oils and mixed media. Her work has won numerous awards in NSW and QLD. Highlights include being a finalist in the Sir John Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, and the Portia Geach Memorial Award for leading Australian female portrait artists, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney. Cole’s work has been hung in multiple group exhibitions, two solo shows at Weswal Gallery, Tamworth, with another upcoming in 2024.
Works are held in Australia, England, New Zealand, Canada, North America & Luxembourg.