Color and light have long characterized the works of California artist, Leslie Toms. While influenced by the Society of Six, California Impressionism and local artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud and Greg Kondos, she has traveled as far as France to study under other masters. By 1974, she had visited 37 countries while obtaining a B.A. in Art. During one semester living in Amsterdam, she spent the entire winter sitting in museums to keep warm. Works by Gauguin, Van Gogh, Rembrandt and others were her teachers. Upon returning to the United States she began her career in earnest.

She remembers that time. ”An artist needs to learn from others but ultimately must reach inside and paint what is in their soul. I love life and I paint what I love most about it." Following college she worked in the graphic design field until 1979, when she left her job to exhibit and sell her work full time. Known for bold, contemporary etchings, printmaking eventually gave way to constructed paintings and monotypes. Nearly ten years had passed when Toms found herself tired of a confining studio life. She bought a portable easel and a ticket to Greece. Art and travel became a way of life.

Today, she divides her time between studio and location painting. As we follow her work over the back roads of Italy, to a field of lavender in Provence or perhaps to an umbrella strewn beach in East Hampton, she takes us along. In her paintings, landscapes and structures predominate; figures are rarely seen, only implied. Yet we are invited to enter. An empty chair is left for us to fill. A worn footpath leads us up to an old villa perched above a grove of olive trees where we may sit and drink a glass of wine. Through her deft use of color and light she wills us to celebrate the world around us.