Hi, I'm Lela

You could say the open road was my home for much of my life. Before I was eighteen, my family had lived in 35 different places. During this time, the scenery and the landscapes we drove past, became my friends, my most constant companions, ever-changing, and ever-calling. I didn't realize the profound effect this had on me until decades later when my daughter looked at me painting one day and said, "Mom, I think that's why you like painting landscapes; you saw so many of them growing up. They were a constant thing in your life." And she was right. ​

For me, landscapes have always been home, and the open road has always been the best way to see them.

I come from a line of creative women. My mother was an artist; a whimsical crafter, constantly creating and inventing little things that made her happy. She sold her creations to the public and by today's standards, she would have been an entrepreneur. My grandmother was a fantastic oil painter, and even though she was insistent that I never touch her paintings or her paint, I eventually caught the creative bug.

I dabbled in watercolor in high school, and later ceramics, which I enjoyed. But acrylic paint, for me, opened a whole new world. It was instant. It was easy to fix if something went wrong, and you could break the rules. I dove into abstract painting, and found a whole new level of expression. Later, I further honed my skills beyond abstract. I've familiarized myself with the "rules" but also found great personal satisfaction in ignoring them when the art demands.​

If my work makes someone see things a little differently, I feel like I've done my job.

 Today I create things that bring me joy, that wake people up, that make people feel something. It is my desire to go where the art takes me, where the creation process takes me. The open road calls, and I must answer!