Tulsa Artist's Work On Display At Circle Cinema

You might have seen artist Jill Leslye painting a street scene or an historic building. It often takes months to finish one painting.

Now you can see her work in one place. She the featured artist at the Circle Cinema next month.

"Each of these painting took me between 6 months and a year," said artist Jill Leslye. 

Most of Jill Leslye's recent paintings tell a story of what she saw during the time she watched and painted. 

"This is real news not fake news," she said, "that's the point of this."

What she means in this case is as she stood across the street from Shades of Brown Coffee Shop in Brookside. She painted the people she saw there.
 
"This is the owner Melinda and her husband," she said of one painting. 

The other folks are regular customers, who were there over time. She is putting together a month-long exhibit of her work at the Circle Cinema.

"Twenty paintings, I guess close to 20 years, but I'm painting over 30 years," she said. 

She's developed a texting style all her own. In one painting from Riverparks, the red buds seem to be growing right out of the canvas.

She has an emotional connection with the non-profits she has painted, saying it means so much to her to help people in her own way.

She sells prints of her paintings and some of the proceeds, she donates to places like the Coffee Bunker which helps veterans.   

The official opening of Ill's exhibition is from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 25. Her paintings will be on exhibit in the Circle's lobby through June.