leila Leonard
Art by Leila
A curated portfolio of original works created for college art program submisssions.
Leila (LEE-luh) Leonard
I would describe myself as an emerging artist with a love for drawing and a natural eye for perspective and color. I am looking forward to extending my creativity into digital spaces, where I can explore the connection between art, design, and user experience. I enjoy blending aesthetic design with practical function, creating visuals that connect with people. As I prepare to enter college, I’m keeping my creative path open and staying curious about where my skills and imagination will lead next.
Swimming koi fish
Medium: Acrylic paint on a white canvas
Year: 2025
Dimensions: 16” x 12”
Description:
This piece expresses two koi fish gracefully swimming through a pond. In this painting I tried to maintain strong elements of color and also capture the many changes in value of the water. There is a lot of texture within the water to show the flow and direction the fish are moving. The work serves as an exploration into my artistic techniques used to convey movement and vitality.
Marbles in light
Medium: Colored pencil on paper
Year: 2024
Dimensions: 10” x 15”
Description:
Realistic still life
In this drawing of a vibrant collection of glass marbles I worked to demonstrate my skills in color theory and shading. In creating this composition, I focused on capturing the unique ways light interacts with and passes through transparent forms. This piece was a critical exercise in exploring the visual complexities of light and how it defines form, color, and depth.
The siren
Medium: Colored pencil on paper
Year: 2024
Dimensions: 14” x 20”
Description:
Illustrative Surrealism
In this piece, I utilize a dark and immersive color palette to create an ominous self-portrait emerging from the water. Inspired by Japanese manga, the composition emphasizes both a deep sense of mood and the illusion of fluid movement. This work demonstrates my command of color and my ability to craft a powerful atmosphere through deliberate artistic technique.
A day in new york city
Medium: Colored pencil on paper
Year: 2025
Dimensions: 13” x 9”
Description:
Urban scene, illustrative realism
Using a cherished family photograph as a reference, this colored pencil drawing captures my mother and aunt in mid-1980s New York City. The piece showcases my meticulous attempt to detail the nuanced brickwork and distinct features of the cityscape. It is a study in realism, demonstrating my technical skill in rendering fine details with colored pencils.
Summers they shared
Medium: Etching
Year: 2025
Dimensions: 8” x 10”
Description:
Inspired by a rare family photograph, this etching serves as both a portrait and a historical record of my mother and grandmother. I chose the medium of etching specifically for its ability to convey profound detail and texture, believing it could best capture the essence of a cherished, aged photograph. My process focused on rendering the intricate patterns of their clothes and the car in the background, building a scene that is both visually rich and emotionally resonant. Through this technique, I aimed to express the profound emotional value of the original image, recreating it through my own artistic interpretation.
Reflections on the lense
Medium: Pencil on paper
Year: 2025
Dimensions: 12” x 17”
Description:
This still life drawing was created at the beginning of my senior year, my latest drawing, reflecting the skills I have developed throughout my time in high school. Through careful observation and technical proficiency, I rendered the camera with intricate detail. The deliberate use of shading and variations in tonal values work together to create a convincing sense of depth and dimension within the composition.
Edinburgh’s empire
Medium: Etching
Year: 2024
Dimensions: 5” x 7”
Description:
Peeking over a hill from a train station in Edinburgh, Scotland, I captured a striking photo of a historic castle during the summer of 2024. This image inspired this etching, which expands upon my focus on precise detail and craftsmanship. My use of meticulous lines are a direct response to the powerful architectural form seen on my travels.
Yoru No Machi (night street)
Medium: Acrylic paint on a white canvas
Year: 2025
Dimensions: 12” x 16”
Description:
Contemporary atmospheric realism
This piece is a tribute to a close friendship and a memorable year. Inspired by my friend Jasmine's foreign exchange year in Japan, in this painting I capture a traditional streetscape at night. Using techniques of foreshortening, I created a sense of depth that draws the viewer into the scene, while my handling of light and color aims to convey the emotional warmth of our friendship against the serene backdrop of the Japanese night sky.
Painted forest
Medium: Printmaking
Year: 2025
Dimensions: 12” x 16”
Description:
In a junior year printmaking project, I explored the incorporation of natural elements by creating a print from leaves. To make them stand out, I chose a vibrant color palette of blues, pinks, and teals against a black paper base. This high-contrast approach creates a powerful visual effect. After the ink dried, I enhanced the negative space with colored pencil, allowing for more intense and layered colors. This piece highlights my developing skill in color theory and my capacity for combining new techniques.
Labyrinthine Gaze
Medium: Black pen on white paper.
Year: 2023
Dimensions: 16” x 16”
Description:
This stippling work was one of my foundational pieces, and it was particularly significant as my first attempt at this detailed technique. I was fascinated by the process of building dimension through countless small circles, and I was ultimately successful in realizing my vision for the piece. The dedication I developed while creating this artwork have become core to my artistic process and are evident in the more advanced skills I now use in my later projects.
Swimmers Supplies
Medium: Pencil on paper
Year: 2022
Dimensions: 10” x 14”
Description:
As one of my earliest high school projects, this drawing documents my time as a competitive swimmer for my high school swim team. I used a photograph of my gear as the subject, focusing on developing fundamental techniques in shading and highlighting. The project allowed me to explore and accentuate the interplay of light and shadow, and it marks a key moment in my early artistic development.
Lone lotus
Medium: Painted paper collage
Year: 2023
Dimensions: 12” x 14”
Description:
This piece is an exploration into the craftsmanship of torn and painted paper as a collage medium. By layering papers and applying textural elements with tools like bubble wrap, I created a deep, watery background. The vibrant pink lotus is designed to emerge dynamically from this rich green base, using color contrast to create a visually striking composition.
Lazy cat
Medium: Acrylic paint on a white canvas
Year: 2025
Dimensions: 12” x 16”
Description:
This painting captures a quiet afternoon with my cat, Marceline, basking in a moment of pure tranquility on my bed. To create this serene atmosphere, I built a palette of warm, calming colors that evoke the peaceful mood of a lazy day. The piece was an exercise in portraying emotion through color and focused on the challenge of rendering texture to give Marceline’s fur a soft, fluffy appearance.
My first still -life
Medium: Colored pencil on paper
Year: 2023
Dimensions: 17” x 11”
Description:
This still-life drawing was an exercise in observation and color layering. I wanted to capture the way light reflected through the glass and across the surface of the various bottles. Working in colored pencil helped me understand how subtle shifts in tone and texture can create realism. This piece also taught me how to build up each color gradually to achieve a sense of depth and balance in the final composition.
Dance of death
Medium: White colored pencil on black paper
Date: 2024
Dimensions: 8” x 7.5”
Description:
In this piece I wanted to have a very dramatic contrast between the bright bones and the intense black back drop. Using my artistic eye, I wanted to crate an intense mood between the skeleton and the person reaching out. This being my second time working in white pencil and black paper I was very happy with out it turned out.
Clay Collage
Medium: Clay
Date: 2020-2023
Description:
During quarantine of 2020, I began searching for a creative outlet and my dad pointed me towards his old potter’s wheel — a vintage one from Alfred University — it still worked perfectly. He’d learned to throw pots on it when he was eleven, taught by a college art student who gave lessons in our hometown. With his guidance, I began experimenting on the same wheel, and the process felt surprisingly familiar. The rhythm, the weight of the clay, the way it centers — it all came naturally. These pieces are a few of my own explorations in clay, a continuation of something that began long before me.
fender blooms
Medium: Acrylic on Fender Stratocaster
Date: 2024
Description:
This piece was a commission from my brother, an engineering student and musician at Alfred University. He built this Fender Stratocaster and asked me to customize it with a hand-painted floral motifs. I designed the pattern to complement the instrument’s curves and contrast its dark finish, using acrylic detail work to “flow” along the lines of his beloved guitar. He was very happy with the results that reflects both of our creative identities.