Leslie Ann Becker- Artist Biography
By the age of 21, Ms. Becker was an honours graduate of the Ontario College of Art and an independent working artist. One of the first in her class to sell an original work, she was also one of the few who has sustained themselves as a professional ever since her first self-run public exhibition in 1986.
A pioneer of Toronto’s Queen Street West art and music scene, her travels with various bands as a rock drummer have taken her back and forth across the continent where she initially discovered her love for the American Southwest landscape. It was travelling in a van on tours across North America, playing gigs at various nightclubs along the way, where Leslie first began loosely sketching landscapes. The moods and atmospheres of her experience led her work to develop into the expressions of colour and floral landscape for which she is now recognized.
As a young, inquisitive spirit, she took the time to study art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where once again she was awakened to a passion for the beauty and inspiration of the mountains.
Becker’s deep connection to the landscape is expressed through composition, colour, and texture, allowing the viewer to become fully engaged in emotional interpretation. In her thoughtful creations she has perceptively captured the atmosphere of her environments and has profoundly preserved these as visual images.
Her wide experience is mirrored in the flexibility and range of her artwork; from expressions of the stunning Gatineau Hills in and around Wakefield, Quebec, to the vast, majestic terrain of the vibrant and mystical desert mountains.
Leslie’s work is a result of a childhood lived with a collector’s eye, a trained percussionist’s rare sense of rhythm and energy, and an enduring love for the rough beauty of Northern Ontario and the American Southwest.
Empower
Growth
Becker Art and Wellness -Presenter’s biography
Leslie Becker is a musician and artist from Toronto Canada who has been following her creative passions throughout her life. She is an art teacher and has travelled, created, exhibited and sold hundreds of art works along the way. Becker, who has faced mental health challenges from time to time during her personal journey, inspires others by sharing her story and art creations through a visual slideshow and tells about difficulties and celebrations along the way. With a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Community Arts Education and recent experience working as a group facilitator and recreation therapist, she is eager to share from her own life experiences and connect with others who have struggled.
This presentation will highlight the journey of an artist while addressing the importance of resilience and coping skills for surviving in a changing environment. We will translate knowledge , awareness, desire and drive into practice and purpose.
Each session will be interactive and include a question and answer period. Persons in attendance will have an opportunity to begin constructing a personal list of strategies that can aid in maintaining wellness, balance and inspiration, while instilling support and hope. Individuals will begin to identify some of their own interests, discoveries and dreams.
The focus of this presentation is to encourage recovery principles and empower personal growth.