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Leisa O'Brien

Surf Artist

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Leisa O'Brien

Gold Coast, Australia

Because she grew up running around cane fields and feeding rock wallabies (smaller cousin of the kangaroo) in her backyard, it's hard to imagine a little country girl ending up a surfer chick. From a young age, Leisa had known she wanted to be an artist but her love affair with surfing didn't start for almost thirty years later.

Leisa moved away from her home town of Bundaberg to further her education and eventually moving to the Gold Coast, got the urge to learn to surf at the ripe old age of 33 and was instantly captivated. It wasn't until Leisa became pregnant three years later and had to give up surfing-temporarily, and be content to sit and watch her husband, that she got the desire to paint the surf.

Self taught with acrylics, her passion for the ocean and surfing comes out in her artwork, and people connect with the feelings her work evokes. Leisa runs her own illustration business with her husband and is also an Art Lecturer at a private college on the coast and holds her own art workshops at a local gallery on the Queensland/New South Wales border. Due to the steady sales of her paintings, Leisa is now dedicating more time to her art and has originals, matted prints, greeting cards and bookmarks of her paintings for sale on her website.

I've never felt more content and at the same time driven - in my life. I love the fact that people relate to what I paint. I get out and surf whenever I can and when I paint the ocean or the beach lifestyle, I'm in a way, paying homage to the joy and inspiration the ocean gives me. I'm so grateful to be able to share my passion with others. How lucky am I?

Follow Leisa on Twitter (@LeisaOBrien)

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