Leslie Adkins is a mixed media artist and figurative painter, who investigates identity, symbology, heritage, and decolonization through painting. Much of her work involves painting with acrylics on canvas, linen, and reclaimed wood. With a focus on Black portraiture, abstracted natural world elements, and spiritual symbology, Leslie creates other-worldly images between the figure and their surroundings. Her work also expresses an intention to preserve the sacredness of Black innocence while celebrating Black identity through representation.

Originally from the Midwest, Leslie has spent the last decade exploring the natural world of Southern California and specifically, the wonders of its ancestral Tongva and Chumash Lands. As well as being inspired by the physical and spiritual relationship the Indigenous peoples of Topanga (the Tongva) have with nature, Leslie has also traveled the globe and been powerfully influenced by the culture and environs of such places as Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. The unique experiences Leslie continues to encounter in her travels serve as endless sources of inspiration and learning for her.

As an artist, avid outdoor explorer, and practicing yogi, Leslie has a deep relationship both with nature and her interior life. Like traveling to different cultures & places, her time in nature and her Transcendental Meditation practice also inform her artwork.

Leslie received a Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Design from Columbia College, Chicago. Since 2013, she has exhibited in the following galleries & Museums: The Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, IL, LA Art Show in Los Angeles, CA, The Modbo Gallery in Colorado Springs, CO, and Viridian Gallery in New York, NY.