AbouT

Leslie Rowland

Artist, Designer, Gallery Owner, Curator, Creative

Pardon the first person, but we all know that I’m the one writing this. I’ve been creating since I was a small child. My mother used to throw her hands up in futility when I chose my own palettes for paint by number projects, turning them into works of impressionism. My father would come home to find that I had adorned the driveway and sidewalk with colored chalk. When they took away the chalk, I fell back on much more permanent bark. The world was my canvas. Becoming an artist was not a conscious decision, rather a compulsory happening; art is what I think about while awake and what I dream about at night. 

Much of my work focuses on ecological concepts condensing relatively complex scientific scenarios into single images. These works include butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and other pollinators puzzled together with imagery of flowers from which they derive nectar and that they pollinate. Another ecological concept is presented in a series which depicts animals and how they benefit the ecosystems and humans.  

My work also focuses on technology. Our lives rely so much on technology and communicating with each other via the internet. This is explored in paintings with positive messages in binary code such as "you are beautiful," “I love you,” “love lives here” and "Fuck it; let's dance." Another technological series concentrates on music and presents sound waves from songs we can all relate to. I’ve painted sound waves based on The Beatles, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Miles Davis, Lil Wayne, Fats Domino, The Stones, John Lennon and even monks chanting "OM."

I believe that art is a powerful form of communication, sometimes visceral and sometimes direct. The purpose of my work is to make the viewer feel connected, joyful, loved and enthused. Art has the potential to heal, enrich and enlighten. It’s my greatest ambition to create art that reaches you.

Throughout my career, I’ve had many solo shows and group exhibitions at home in the states and abroad. I’ve owned galleries in Las Vegas, NV and now have L Rowland Fine Contemporary Art in Asheville’s River Arts District and Gallery COR in Asheville’s downtown Gallery District. My husband Wade and I moved to the vibrant arts community of Asheville, NC 10 years ago. In addition to an art filled life, I have a graduate degree in environmental science. My husband and I have a crew racing team on beautiful Lake Lure, NC and a musical duo called The Drunken Sundays, Wade plays guitar and harmonica and I sing. In our vast amount of free time, we love to spend time with our five rescued cats.