Trijsten Leach

I grew up in the Santa Cruz California countryside and gained an early love of the mountains, the forests and the oceans. When I wasn’t surfing I was hiking, or biking with my brothers and friends.

I earned a BFA from Brigham Young University Hawaii. Before then I had never used oil paints and had only once or twice painted a picture. During my time at college I painted no more than 25 paintings but I learned the fundamentals and my interest was ignited.

For seven years after graduating my art production halted due to a nine-to-five desk job. After being laid off with nearly 700 other employees my family and I decided I would do art full time, using my front porch as my studio in our Provo Utah home.

In April of 2017 I did my first painting on location (en pleinair). In my mind that marked the beginning of my adventure as a full time artist. Through a series of miracles I was able to study under the renowned California Landscape Artist John Burton. That experience did more for my art education than any other instruction and learning I had done previously.

Artist Statement
My artwork centers on landscapes of the American West, and in particular Utah. Plein-air painting plays a very important role in my work as it informs the subtlety of color and textures within my art. Light and form, as observed in nature, are essential elements in conveying the stories behind the places I paint. Each place has a unique identity and I strive to capture that as simply as possible. It is n ... view more »

I grew up in the Santa Cruz California countryside and gained an early love of the mountains, the forests and the oceans. When I wasn’t surfing I was hiking, or biking with my brothers and friends.

I earned a BFA from Brigham Young University Hawaii. Before then I had never used oil paints and had only once or twice painted a picture. During my time at college I painted no more than 25 paintings but I learned the fundamentals and my interest was ignited.

For seven years after graduating my art production halted due to a nine-to-five desk job. After being laid off with nearly 700 other employees my family and I decided I would do art full time, using my front porch as my studio in our Provo Utah home.

In April of 2017 I did my first painting on location (en pleinair). In my mind that marked the beginning of my adventure as a full time artist. Through a series of miracles I was able to study under the renowned California Landscape Artist John Burton. That experience did more for my art education than any other instruction and learning I had done previously.

Artist Statement
My artwork centers on landscapes of the American West, and in particular Utah. Plein-air painting plays a very important role in my work as it informs the subtlety of color and textures within my art. Light and form, as observed in nature, are essential elements in conveying the stories behind the places I paint. Each place has a unique identity and I strive to capture that as simply as possible. It is not enough to paint a pretty picture, it is my intention to help viewers feel the poetry of the landscape, locked in an otherwise fleeting moment of time. My focus for the last year has been on Utah mountainscapes. With no shortage of mountain views I have tried to paint iconic mountains from unique perspectives or hard-to-reach vantage points. This has meant capturing small studies from life and expounding those ideas on larger canvas’ in the studio.

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