Leslie Hamrick

Categories: Art Therapy, Classes, Commission, Mixed Media, Visual Artist

BIO:Earning a BFA from the University of Kansas and a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Leslie practiced art therapy with a variety of populations before settling with her family in Augusta, GA. She is an instructor at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art and Board Member of the Greater Augusta Arts Council. She has recently stepped away from her volunteer time leading an art group for differently abled adults to focus on her own artistic life by using pieces from her past to inform her current work. ARTIST’S STATEMENT:I have been drawn to making art since I was a child, but my world exploded when introduced to Betty Edward’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Getting lost in the fluidity of contour lines is my favorite space on a canvas and I love the process of adding collage layers of old artwork, tissue, and a variety of hand-printed papers, which opens a space of endless exploration. My focus leans towards portraits and figures with emphasis on exaggerated forms. Like the Fauvists’, I embrace the use of strong lines, bright palettes, and abstraction inspired by the works of Matisse, Picasso, Gaugin, and Botero. I find the physical act of making art to be therapeutic in itself and enjoy the process as much as the end product.