Born in Southwest Scotland, Leigh studied for her honours degree in Drawing & Painting at Edinburgh College of Art/Heriot Watt University. After working as a professional artist and lecturer, she returned to her studies and completed a Master of Fine Art at Edinburgh College of Art/Edinburgh University in 2006.

Leigh’s work, whether figurative, landscape or abstract, deals with the instinctive process of making: the constant ebb and flow of pattern, overpainting, layering and mark making. The process is very organic, sensual and free flowing: transparent colour, opaque paint and glittering flecks of pigment glow and dance on the canvas.

“I am fascinated by the building up of layers and the alchemy of creating an artwork. My drawings and paintings are constantly changing, each incarnation creating an imprint of all that has gone before”

Leigh’s art practice is both meditative and intuitive and she seeks to explore concepts of sublimity, spirituality and memory through her abstract, landscape and figurative work. She is interested in how the physical meets the spiritual, how the figurative meets the abstract, how the tangible meets the intangible.

“Empty places at the top of the world, hushed expanses, the pause between the in-breath and the out-breath; in these ephemeral moments we experience a connection with the intangible divinity of our shared human experience”  

Being the recipient of numerous awards, Leigh has exhibited in Australia and the UK. Her work has been shown in venues such as the Royal Scottish Academy, The National Portrait Gallery (London), The Scottish Gallery and the Mall Galleries (London). Her work is held in public and private collections throughout the UK and Australia.