Leila attended the Florida State University School of music where she received the Bachelor and Master's degrees in Piano Performance.
In the early 1990's Leila began exploring other avenues for artistic expression, studying watercolor painting with some of the local artist's. Following Leila's retirement in 2000 and after a period of travel and study in Southern France, Leila has been avidly pursuing painting as a means of artistic expression, experiencing with different media and developing a deep interest in abstract impressionism. In 2001-02, one of her abstract's was featured on the Tallahassee Symphony Program, underscoring the relationship between music and painting that is a common theme in her art.
Artist Statement: My painting is deeply intuitive and influenced by my personal experiences and events, poetry and music. The greatest pleasure for me through my painting is to be able to capture or spark the imagination of the viewer in a way that evokes emotion, reflection, and thought. Whatever the subject matter, I believe I achieve the best results when I paint freely what I deeply sense.
