Leanna Dayle (who previously signed as Leanna Taylor) is a self-taught portrait artist based in central Virginia. Raised in Oregon, she completed her undergrad at Portland State University before moving overseas. After volunteering for a year in southeast Africa and teaching English for a year in South Korea, she moved to Virginia in 2020 and currently works as a custom framer. All of her artwork is self-framed with solid wood moulding and museum-quality glass and matting.​

 

Her artistic journey began in 2017 during her yearlong service trip to southeast Africa. Limited internet access and dependency on solar power for energy created the need for a more traditional means of entertainment, and she began experimenting with the paint and drawing supplies in the school she was volunteering at. After initial practice drawing some of the African wildlife, she transitioned to drawing her friends and neighbors. She has a great love for drawing eyes and the reflections they cast, for wrinkles and facial detail, and for the brightly colored headwraps that the women she met in Mozambique would wear.

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More recently, her artistic inclination has migrated to winged wildlife. This new fascination has led to a mixed collection of fearsome black-and-white raptors, and sweet, colorful songbirds.

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Leanna is open to commission requests that align with her artistic vision and skill set. To discuss any projects you may have in mind, please email

leannadayleart@gmail.com