Artists - Part 53

 Michael Leonard

Michael Leonard was born in India in 1933 to British parents.  After World War II in 1945 he moved to England to complete his education.  He studied Commercial Design and Illustration and began working as a freelance illustrator for books, magazines, advertising and the press.  Above is a self-portrait from 1987.  It is incredibly detailed, looking like a photograph, but it's a painting.

Although he was a commercial illustrator, he had a desire to express a personal vision and make art for the wall, not the page.  He began doing paintings.  He painted a wide variety of subjects – portraits of friends, people with their dogs in the park, construction workers across the street from his studio – but the male nude was a recurring theme.  Above, Shawn with a White Cat, 1971.

More often, his figures are not resting but are doing something.  (Bathers with Yellow Towels, 1980)

His paintings also often look cropped, not focusing on the subject's face.  (Stooping Bather, 1980)

Sometimes he included a face ...  (Seated Nude, 1983)

and sometimes not. (White Socks, 1997)

Although these are nudes, the genitals may or may not be prominent.  (Stretch, 1998)

Bather Off Balance, 1998.

Bather with Intent, 2000-2001.  Again, note the photographic realism.

Pattern of Limbs, 2000-2001.

We end with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II that Leonard was commissioned to paint by Reader's Digest in 1985 for her sixtieth birthday.  Again showing photographic realism, it is now in the permanent collection of Britain's National Portrait Gallery.

You can see more of Leonard's work on his website www.michaelleonardartist.com.