Hi I'm Leslee! 

I grew up in Portland, Oregon but spent most of my adult life in Southern California. My earliest memory of creativity was assigning the days of the week to different colors.

 

I spent the first half of my career in Los Angeles, working for technology and software companies such as Hewlett Packard, where I used my degree in business.  But all along I had a strong yearning to create and dreamed of finding the time to develop my passion so I could go out into the world with it.  

 

At a certain age, I became determined to make it happen. I squeezed in fine art classes, dragging my small children with me when needed. Every Friday for three years, I trained at Mission Renaissance Fine Art Studio with Patricia Merrill. I used these new, exciting skills off and on for years, making art for family, friends,  school projects and volunteer organizations.  

 

When an unexpected move from Southern California to Mckinney, Texas happened in 2014,  I knew I'd need to find my people somehow through art. Since I knew no one in Texas, I spent an entire  year just saying "yes" to everything! One night, I decided to paint a pet portrait for my daughter  and good things just started happening.   Fueled by this momentum, I began to pursue my dream of making art my main focus. How lucky was I to land in a place with a thriving art community and friendly artists who were open and supportive.

 

Creating every day is a beyond awesome.  I paint in  a variety of mediums, including Coffee.  I truly know I'm doing what is exactly right for me.  You can find me and my work at Last Art Gallery in McKinney and on Instagram @LesleeOrtegaArt. 

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Days of the week as assigned by me sometime in early childhood:

Monday - Red

Tuesday - Yellow

Wednesday - Green

Thursday - Orange

Friday - Brown

Saturday - Pink

Sunday - Blue

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