Visual artist Leigh Witherell Follow.Art Card

About me

My work exists in the space between what is seen and what is felt. My figurative acrylic painting explores the human body not simply as physical form, but as a vessel for memory, grief, intimacy, resilience, and emotional truth. Rather than pursuing exact likeness, I am drawn to essence, creating work that speaks to the quiet, often unspoken experiences that shape a life.

My paintings hold emotion in its rawest form, yet they do not shout. They move through subtlety, quiet conversations, and moments where feeling exists beneath language. Much of my work inhabits unresolved spaces where grief, longing, tenderness, and healing coexist.

My commission work draws from the narratives of life rather than a portrait of the physicality of a person. I sit down with a client, hear their stories and then begin to create a piece that will forever remind the client of a time that was dear to them. That time may be joyous, surprising or even sad or melancholy, it just all depends on what the client holds dearest to their heart.

My process is intuitive, allowing unfinished gestures, and layered emotional textures to preserve honesty within the work. I allow the surface to remain human, lived, and imperfect rather than polished, inviting viewers to enter the ambiguity, find something personal, and feel seen in ways words cannot always reach.