Today we’d like to introduce you to Lesley C. Humphrey.
Lesley, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up riding rough little ponies over the Pennine Chain of England, drawing and painting them whenever I got the chance. However, as often happens, well-meaning parents dissuaded me from pursuing art as a serious career, and I became a paralegal.
My career as a paralegal eventually gave way to my love of horses, and in 1989, I returned to art, honing my painting skills with Houston artist Dick Turner. By 1993 I was successful and already well-known as a painter of horses. In 2011, I was named the official Kentucky Derby Artist when my painting “Victory” was used throughout Kentucky to promote the Derby. Victory appeared in a plethora of publicity and articles; It peered down at you from banners lining the streets of Louisville and up at you from your tickets and programs…
Inevitably, this type of exposure garnered world-wide acclaim for my work, with commissions streaming in from everywhere. Yet, once the Derby was all over, I retreated into Art and into the world of teaching, where I am most comfortable. As my ‘artist statement’ says “I believe we can all learn to paint, but the true masterpieces arise from deep within. Exploring the images of that place, and helping you excavate yours, is my greatest goal.”
My son Chris Humphrey and I created “Lessons With Lesley”, a free teaching program available on my website at www.lesleyhumohrey.net. We sent them out into the world where they are now used by thousands of artists and educators and I believe that the content available on my website may, in the end, be my greatest work.
As previously mentioned, my mentor was the great Dick Turner from Houston who taught me to see and paint beautiful light; The lessons I learned in just 5 months with him changed my life and gave me a new prism with which to see the world. My aesthetic has been since ‘infected’ by other, wonderful teachers these past 25 years, but it is ‘the light’ that shines through, wether I’m painting horses or people, abstract/expressionism or realism. It’s a huge adventure…
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
The horse features in much of my work. Why? They are my metaphor for silent energy, animal nature. They communicate with you via energy and emotion… without words.
Horses can love you, they’ll carry you, giving you great strength and presence. You feel like you’re on top of the world when you are on a horse; it’s sheer pleasure, and there’s nothing so exhilarating as galloping a huge Thoroughbred around a cross-country course or on a track… I paint energy. Emotional and physical energy. It happens to look like a horse. I make marks in paint, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s watercolor, oil, charcoal, or acrylic… I use all these media in the very same way.
Every painting begins in my journal (I have 72 now!) Life deals us many ups and downs, some of them very difficult to face and overcome. Things that have the powerful emotional energy for me become my themes:
How hard is it to overcome addiction? You need great strength, power… and determination. I explore these themes and put everything into my Snowman series such as ‘Afterburn’ and L’espirit’.
Your mother is old, very fragile and fading now. You know you’re on borrowed time and you savor every minute with her. You think about generations, fulfillment and life’s cycles. I explore these themes in “The Mother” series.
I am inspired by great people. When Texan ‘Wendy Davies’ took her incredible stand for abortion rights in her pink and peach tennis shoes, I thought about women ‘in the arena.’ Never more pertinent than today as GOP tries to elect supreme court judge Kavanagh… Groundbreaking women like Houston’s Brene Brown and horse racing’s Rose Nepravnik inspired this dark horse going into the arena… in Wendy Davis’s colors… it all shows up in art!
My work bridges the gap between abstract/expressionism and realism. I feel, as I get older, that the abstraction seems to be taking over the work, and I truly believe that my heart and soul show up in the abstraction…I let go and improvise in color, texture, and mark-making.
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
A mentor once said, “Don’t worry about trying to be famous, because if you’re doing something worthwhile, you’ll eventually be noticed.” Over the past 30 years of my career, I have found this to be very true, time and time again.
Do the very best you can to hone your craft, then go within, be yourself, and always work from there. If you feel powerful about something and have the courage to create from that wholly authentic place, the work will have meaningful content; You will feel something, and so will the viewer. It takes great courage to paint from that place, yet if we wish to aspire to be an artist, you have no choice.
I believe that so much of what passes as art these days is really more like glamor; surface beauty. I confess I did quite a bit of this in the early days… most of us do. What if you have just found out you’re losing a beautiful, dear, young soul to cancer? You might paint “Swan Song’…
Be yourself, your whole self, and paint from this place. Go for it!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
We love it when people join the Humphrey community and by subscribing to our Newsletter at https://www.lesleyhumphrey.net/newsletter/ Sign up before December 14th and you will be automatically entered for a chance to win an original painting in our December “thank you and give-away” drawing of our faithful subscribers.
Artists of all levels can download our inexpensive videos, and learn how to paint themselves my website or using our 27 free online art lessons at.
We’re looking forward to visiting our Houston fans at my solo show “Saved By A Horse” scheduled for January 2020 at The Pearl Fincher MFA, Spring, Texas.
My work is represented by New Editions Gallery, 500 W Short St, Lexington, KY 40507, USA. https://neweditionsgallery.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lesleyhumphrey.net
- Phone: 281-356-8668
- Email: lesleyhumphreyart@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lesley_humphrey/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lesleychumphrey/?ref=bookmarks
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
