"Showering Abundance" Painting

The notion of dancing with color and light, storytelling, expressing spirit through joy, are all germane to my work. Color, like sound and music, is a vibration and possesses an ability to heal. Color and art possess a mysterious and profound ability to touch a visceral knowing and sensibility in our bodies and psyches that speaks to an emotional truth about our shared humanity. For all our diversity our essence is love. I have always been fascinated by color, light, movement and energy. Through an exploration of these elements my painting aspires to weave spirit, sensuality and emotional healing into what might appear to be to the unknowing eye as merely an abstract and/or figurative work. The more we connect with the essence of our soul, love, the more we will create a world that celebrates beauty in diversity and joy in our unique gifts. Leslie Gifford has a background in dance, theatre and the spiritual/healing arts including yoga and astrology. She has traveled extensively throughout the world; she lived and worked as a choreographer/director in Paris, France. During that time she and her colleagues won a Fringe First Award from the Edinburg Theatre Festival for innovative and outstanding theatre. Leslie was invited to teach dance and theatre at the American Center for Students and Artists in Paris. Under the auspices of the Center she was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Grant to synthesize theatre, dance and art. When she returned to the United States she began to paint. She also authored and illustrated a children’s book based on a trip to the Amazon. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally in such ventures as the Oslo City Hall, for the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony, and Gallery A Priori The in Paris. Her work was in a portrait show at the Loveland Museum, featuring Chuck Close. Most recently she had a 2 month solo exhibit, A Celebration of Light, at the Center for the Arts in Jackson, Wyoming. Her work is in several publication and is in private and corporate collections. In addition to painting Leslie teaches classes and workshops in art and yoga. She currently resides in Denver, Colorado.