LESLIE DONAHUE







Boston-based teaching artist, specializing in
painting, drawing, and mixed-media fine arts







Figurative


Self Portrait,
2022, Oil Pastel on Paper




Untitled,
2020, Acrylic on Paper, 3.5x7”.


Woman on a Train,
2020, Oil on Paper, 19x12.5”.



Stranger in Chinatown,
2019, Mixed Media on Masonite, 12x8”.




Liz,
2019, Oil on Paper, 12x14”.



Figure Study With Flowers,
2018, Chalk Pastel on Paper, 6.5x9”.




Movie Star,
2020, Pencil on paper, 7x7”.




Dave, 26,
2019, Pencil on Paper, 7x5”.



Worm Illusion,
2021, Oil on Plastic Canvas



Self Portrait with Match,
2022, Oil on Panel



Untitled Study,
Oil on Canvas



Glare
,
2021, Oil on Unstretched Canvas



Untitled, 2022, Charcoal on Cardstock



February, 2020
Mixed Media on Camvas



In The Maze,
2020, Acrylic on Paper, 15x10”.




New Boots,
2020, Oil on Paper, 15x11”.




Figure in Chair,
2019, Acrylic on Paper, 19x14”.



Figure Drawing, 2023




Patient,
2019, Acrylic on Paper, 7x11”.




Missing Sisters,
2019, Mixed Media on Paper, 14x17”.




In The Room,
2018, Oil on Paper, 14x16”.






Still Life

Detail, 2023 Oil on Canvas



Chrysanthemums on the Mantle,
2019, Pencil on Paper, 8x8”.




Still Life With Apple,
2018, Oil on Masonite, 10x12”.





The Red Shoes,
2018,Oil on Canvas Board, 10x12”.


Still Life with Figures,
2022, Oil on Canvas



Bell Self-Portrait,
2022, Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas

   
Chair Study,
2018, Acrylic on Paper, 9x5”.




Detail, 2023 Oil on Canvas



Environment



Green House,
2020, Acrylic on Canvas, 36x24”.


Mexican Street View,
2023, Acrylic on Cradled Wood,



Sciarappa View,
2021, Oil and Marker on Canvas

for sale


Gualala,
2020, Acrylic on Paper, 23x15”.




             
      





Hose 66,
2021, Oil on Paper with Tape




Pool II,
2021, Acrylic on Canvas



Neighbor’s House,
2020, Oil on Paper, 15x10”.




128,
2020, Mixed Media on Paper, 14x9”.



Billerica,
2020, Acrylic on Paper, 11x7.5”.




Abstraction




Green Shape,
2019, Mixed Media, 18x12”.




X,
2019, Mixed Media on Plastic Canvas, 38x12”. sold




Grid #1,
2019, Mixed Media on Masonite, 32x24”.



Untitled,
2021, Mixed Media on Canvas




Untitled,
2019-2020,Mixed Media on Paper, 11x9”.


Orange Shape,
2019, Mixed Media, 16x12”.




Removal,
2019-2020, Mixed Media, 7x7”.



Yellow Shape,
2019, Mixed Media, 15x12”.



Untitled,
2019, Acrylic and Fabric on Board, 12x9”.





Frantic,
2018, Paper and Charcoal, 24x18”



CONTACT
 
Email               lesliedonahue12@gmail.com

Instagram       @leslie.donahue  https://www.instagram.com/leslie.donahue/
                 



PROFILE                              

Leslie Donahue is a multimedia artist specializing in both oil and acrylic painting. Born and raised in the California Bay Area, their work moves from figurative, to landscape, to still life, to abstraction. Specializing in strange, atmospheric scenes and images imbued with emotion, there is tension between what is revealed to the viewer and what is hidden. Leslie uses their printmaking, drawing, and collage skills to further explore these themes. Leslie has participated in several gallery shows, including a 2022 “Fresh Faces” exhibition at the Abigail Ogilvy Gallery and the 2023 National Prize Show at the Cambridge Art Association, in which they received the Juror’s Choice award. In the summer of 2023, they were granted a two-month-long painting residency in Mexico City. They currently live in Boston, Massachusetts and work as a teacher while maintaining a studio practice. 


ARTIST STATEMENT

I seek references from unusual places. Advertisements, screenshots from television, blurry images from online marketplaces, and other snapshots of the world around me. Mundane yet surreal images are collected like visions, carefully analyzed, replicated, and distorted to reflect a narrative of my specific time and place in the world. Throughout the personal, political, abstract, and representative, I document life with appreciation for beauty in the unexpected.
~Leslie Donahue, 2025



EDUCATION

2021- 2023     Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA

                          Masters of Fine Arts Program in Painting

2017-2019     Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA



GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023 National Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA

2023 Ashes: Art of the Unkempt, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA

2023 Birthed in the Bathhouse, Queer Artist Collective of Massart, Boston, MA

2023 Massart Auction 2023, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA

2022 All School Show, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA

2022 Fresh Faces, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA

2020 Small Works Show, Porter Mill Gallery, Beverly, MA

2019 Annual Crane Estate Art Show: Earth, Wind, Fire, & Water, Ipswich, MA



RESIDENCIES

2023 Winner: Mexico City Fellowship (Massachusetts College of Art and Design)

2022 Finalist: FA2D Nominee, Yale Norfolk program (Massachusetts College of Art and Design)



GRANTS AND AWARDS

2023 Winner: Juror’s Choice Award, Cambridge Art Association National Prize Show

2023 Winner: FA2D Dean Nimmer Auction Award (Massachusetts College of Art and Design)

2022 Winner: Massart Foundation Painting Award (Massachusetts College of Art and Design)

2018 Excellence in Core Curriculum Grant (Montserrat College of Art)



PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

March 2022- Present    Painting Instructor, Arlington Center for the
                                                                                    Arts, Arlington, MA
  • Portraiture for Adults
  • Portraiture for Teens
  • Landscape for Adults
  • Landscape for Teens

August-October 2019, 2024     Cemetery Restoration Intern, Epoch
                                                                        Preservation, Ipswich, MA







All artwork and images on this site are the exclusive property of Leslie Donahue and are protected under the United States and International Copyright laws.