Lesley-Anne Doole has been a passionate artist since childhood and had always hoped to become a professional artist. Her career took a different turn after leaving school though, as she worked her way up in the world of finance.

“One day I decided I’d had enough of the office life, so I left my job to fulfil my dream of becoming a full-time artist,” Lesley-Anne said. It’s a decision that has paid off, her diary for the coming weeks is full of commissions as well as an exciting exhibition in Stow-on-the-Wold planned for next month. Lesley-Anne continued: “I’m tremendously excited about the upcoming exhibition in Stow-on-the-Wold, one of the most beautiful towns in the Cotswolds. I hope to have everything confirmed in the next few days, so keep a look out on my website for details on location and times. I really look forward to an exhibition, it’s a great opportunity for me to discuss my paintings and of course hopefully sell a few of them.

“Leaving my job in finance was a bit of a risk but being an artist is what I’ve always wanted to do so I backed myself and got straight to work once I finished my old job. In my former career I dealt a lot with marketing strategies and sales which was hugely beneficial to my career as an artist as I was able to hit the ground running and really promote my work.”

Living in the Cotswolds has proven to be a major inspiration for Lesley-Anne’s artwork. Her ability to navigate abstract and realism with equal skill has meant she’s always kept busy. She said: “My work is a mixture of realism and abstract art. Most of my commissions fall into the realism category, whether it’s a painting of a landscape, a beach or of animals. Abstract art is something I’ve always done, I enjoy the creative side of it. I love realism as well, painting a beautiful Cotswold landscape is something I will never get bored of. Most of the commissions I do are very precise, very realistic.

“I feel very fortunate to be living in such a wonderful part of the country. I love taking my four dogs out for countryside walks, it’s so relaxing and the countryside is just fantastic. A lot of my work is paintings of the fields and hills of the Cotswolds, I love trying to capture the landscape.

Lesley-Anne has spent a lot of time abroad and it was during one trip to Turkey where she was interviewed by one of the biggest TV corporations in the world. Lesley-Anne continued: “I’ve been very lucky to have spent a lot of time abroad, especially the coastline of Turkey which is fantastic, I love painting the ocean and coastline. Funnily enough when I was over in Turkey I managed to get interviewed by CNN when I was out on a boat which was quite memorable! I did an interview for their art section, which was aired on American TV. That was certainly a memorable day in my artistic career!”