Leila is a London/ Surrey based artist whose love of oil painting began with her first set of oils at the age of 11 – her much cherished prize in a national painting competition.
Her love of paint and colour defines her style, with bold, lustrous brushwork and vibrant, heightened colour. A keen observer of the world around her, she looks for the beauty in life, and wants her paintings to capture memories and moments, bring calm – and spark joy! She is captivated by the season-changing landscape in Britain, and loves travelling abroad for new landscapes and colours.
Leila took her Master of Fine Art at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art and her Bachelor of Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, University of the Arts London. She took a detour there, first studying English and History of Art at the University of Nottingham after school, and then working at the Condé Nast Publications, dealing with images for all the magazines. At 25 she realised how much she missed painting and couldn’t imagine her life without it, and made the decision to study fine art and commit to being an artist.
Born in London, Leila now lives in Surrey with her husband, three children and dog Alfie. Her paintings are in private collections in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. One collector described his collection of her work as a “a festival of Leila Bartons!”. Commissions include painting the portrait of Dame Zandra Rhodes and equine art for the Chairman of Cheltenham Racecourse.