Lesley blackburn

Lesley Blackburn
Professional Artist and Painter
Impressionism , Landscapes, Seascapes, Floral Art , Mixed Media , Abstract , Abstract Expressionism and Gestural , Mixed Media and Acrylic Ink . Palette Knife Painting
Biography
Trained as a Fine Artist in 1979 at Wakefield School of Art in 1978 and BA Hons in Fine Art and Sculpture at Winchester School of Art . In 1979 Art students had liitle opportunities but selling art to traditional main stream galleries and many talented students of the time left and pursued other careers . Artists were affected the snobbery of these galleries because many were not a ' known name ' . Talent did not seem relevant and the critics could be very cruel in their assessments . I decided to pursue a career in nursing and midwifery whilst continuing my passion for painting . I sold my work privately mainly to the medical profession . I qualified as a nurse and a midwife and later became sole Matron and Manager of the Lindo Wing in Paddington and being responsible for royal births .I managed a team of consultants, midwives, nursery nurses and health care assistants . I also worked for the Royal College of Midwives as a union steward from 1988 until 2001 . I also provided expert witness case and advice to courts on aspects of midwifery . In 1997 the maternity unit in Roehampton closed due to government cutbacks threatening 70 staff with redundancy . I manage to secure these jobs and they transferred to other hospitals. In the 1990's I taught many of the medical students how to suture and they learnt a lot about obstetrics from me . One such student I bumped into 20 years later he told me I had inspired him to become an obstetrician .
I gained many qualifications and was a skilled practitioner and supervisor of midwives . I completed Masters in Marketing at South Bank University . I was advanced neonatal practitioner and aromatherapist. I also did the operational management on an on call rota for the NHS in Paddington where we could be called upon to deal with major incidents ,complaints or problem solving . We used our clinical skills in many situations whether it may be siting a drip on a particularly difficult patient or assisting ward staff in complex procedures or attending emergencies .
We were trained to dispense drugs from pharmacy in the middle of the night and were called on to give cytotoxic drugs .Sometimes it was very challenging such as when a patient died in difficult circumstances . Later I moved to Guys and St Thomas Hospital and managed a busy birth centre there where they had up 8000 birth a year. The unit was very busy and often full to capacity with women coming into labour and not having enough beds . I was elected Governor to the Board of Governors 2008 - 2011 and represented the Trust on a wide range of issues liaising with GPs , Community Councils and the general public in improving health services .
Whilst my career in nursing flourished so did my art and passion for painting . In 2009 I Joined artgallery.co.uk which was my first online platform and I became one of their best selling artists . I probably sold well over 400 paintings with artgallery.co.uk and to date my sales would run well in thousands now . I am a well known artist now so I don't have to worry about what the critics think . My customers and the feedback they give me is much more important and the pleasure it gives them in their lives . I have collections in the UK, Denmark, Switzerland ,France, Channel Islands ,Belgium , Dubai , Canada , South Africa , Spain , Australia, and many customers in the United States . Many customers have more than one painting . Some have as many as 3,4 or 5 or more .
My style of painting focuses on impressionism as I love waterlilies and Monet but I am influenced by Turner ,Van Gogh , Matisse and contemporary painters such as Warhol and Pollock . I love colour . I also paint in a contemporary textured style in my sea and landscapes . I like large canvases and tend not to paint small paintings and I favour high quality materials fine oil paints , linen and fine cotton canvases . All my canvases are finished around the edges so you can get away without framing if you wish . The majority are on deep boxed canvases . I enjoy floral painting and love working with a palette knife .
Reviews
The majority of my reviews have all been 5 Star as I pride myself in good communication and carefully packaging of every painting sent out.

Customer from USA
absolutely gorgeous painting . This is the 3rd painting I have purchased from Lesley Blackburn . It was shipped promptly and arrived in great shape from overseas . I love the painting so much . The colours are so bright . Thank you very much .
AS - UK
My wife and I love the painting we bought from Lesley . The painting is absolutely stunning and after deliberation eventually we decided to hang it now in our bedroom so that every day in the morning its the first thing we see . The colours are simply glorious . Lesley's painting lifts our spirits every time we look at it . we were so impressed by Lesley's timely communication . The item was well packed and arrived in good order we are very happy with our purchase and are already thinking about acquiring another of Lesley's painting as soon as we can afford one .