Leila Barton

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 sensations into heightened colour. Her paintings are a celebration of the world around her – a new day is an opportunity for a new visual experience. When painting, she feels both uplifted and grounded, and in turn, she wants her paintings to calm the mind, spark the senses and bring joy.
“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 love of painting began at the age of 11, when she won a set of oils in a national art competition, and the smell of oils still transports her back to that first discovery. 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 applied to 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 paintings for the Jockey Club and Cheltenham Racecourse.
Born 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 saturated colours discovered in her travels abroad.