Lesley Harrison

“Acknowledged as one of the finest pastel artists in America, Lesley Harrison’s amazing equine and wildlife paintings have brought joy and happiness to animal lovers and art lovers throughout the world.” – The Monterey Herald

Lesley Harrison’s affinity for animals and the strong command of her medium allows her to capture the spirit of each animal and to convey its individuality, grace and strength. Her forte in realism and surrealism, combined with the permanence and vibrancy of dry pastels –a notoriously difficult medium to master– has granted Harrison a number of professional honors and awards, including People’s Choice Award at the Kentucky Derby Museum. A professional painter for 35 years, Harrison’s equine, wildlife and domestic animal paintings can be found in private collections throughout the globe. She has been invited to participate in prestigious invitational shows, including the American Academy of Equine Artists, the Pacific Rim Wildlife Show, the Lindsay Museum Show, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum traveling world show, and more.

An exclusive member of the Pastel Society of America as well as the Society of Animal Artists, Harrison is further annually recognized and awarded by the Pastel Society of the West. Interviewed twice on network television and three times on local television, Harrison’s work has attracted attention and awareness for noble causes. In 1992, Harrison’s painting served as a national fund-raising vehicle via Limited Edition Prints for “Friends of the Sea Otter” organization. In 1996, Harrison’s equine paintings were selected as a series and printed as international postage stamps for foreign countries, first released in Nicaragua.

Harrison’s artwork has appeared on the front cover of 17 national and international magazines, some of which include, Equine Images, The Artist Magazine, the Equine Image, Art of the West, International Artist Magazine, U.S. Art Magazine, Horses and Art, Wildlife Art News, U.S. Art, Informat, and Equus. Additionally, Harrison contributed narrative text and wildlife paintings to a number of hardbound books, including Wildlife Painting Step by Step (1995) by Patrick Seslar, The Best of Wildlife Art (1997) by Rachel Rubin Wolf, Art of the American West(1999) by Caroline Linscott, and Of Women and Horses (2000, 2006) by GaWaNi Pony Boy. She has further published her own demonstration and instructional books, Painting Animals that Touch the Heart (2002) and How to Paint Horses and Ponies (2011).

Harrison has been teaching her technique with pastel since 2008 in the United States and abroad, and lectures at pastel associations across the country. Harrison lives in Sutter Creek, California, where she hosts workshops and teachings seminars at her studio.