Lesley Milbounre

her story

Born in Hawick (Scottish Borders) in 1960, the last of four female siblings, I followed in the ‘female’ tradition by joining Lyle & Scott’s knitwear as an apprentice machinist aged 16. Although art and creative work was my passion at school, it was frowned upon as a ‘career’. You never make any money at ‘art’ so I was told. After the birth of my boys, aged 26 and as a single mother, I moved to Newcastle and joined Northumbria university to study food science. Since then, I have had an amazing career in the food and beverage industries and have run my own successful food safety consultancy for 24 years. During covid 19 lockdown in 2020, I reengaged with my passion for art creation, and I started painting, drawing, experimenting with techniques and colours. My main inspirations are animals, historical and famous people and I enjoy drawing realistic portraits in graphite. Influenced by Holbein, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo and Ronnie Wood, I am self-taught. I would describe my approach as affectionate irreverence! Over the past 3 years I have experimented with contemporary portraits bringing the old and new together as in the Elizabeth I portrait. I imagine what she might be like and how she would behave if she was alive in the year 2024, hence the symbolism of words and objects in the painting. My 1970’s teenage years are clearly reflected in my work. My main materials are acrylic, canvas, graphite and occasionally watercolour. I hope you enjoy