ABOUT DALLAS LESLEY
Dallas has twice been a finalist in the Sulman Prize, and hung in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize Exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. Her paintings have been exhibited in Australia, Hong Kong, China, Fiji, and the USA. She has been a selected finalist in several art prize exhibitions around Australia, including the Fleurieu Art Prize, the Percival Portrait Prize, the Blake Prize Director’s Cut and the ANL Maritime Art Prize amongst others. The Perc Tucker Regional Gallery in Townsville acquired Dallas’ portrait painting of Christine Anu, the singer and actor, for the gallery's permanent collection. Dallas' works are held in corporate and private collections in Australia and internationally, and her paintings have been valued and approved by the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program. Dallas has been the curator and sponsor of the arts section of the Cancer Council Posh Auction since 2000.
​
Dallas’ main works express her deep appreciation of nature. She has always been inspired by the ocean and coastal areas. As a child she would wander the rocks and sandy shoreline and explore the curiosities of the rockpools, and she continues to incorporate elements of nature in her expressionist paintings of the coastal areas. The coastal regions of Eastern Australia figure strongly in her work, with inspiration drawn from both the Sydney area and the coastal national parks of the Sunshine Coast. Dallas is a supporter of bird and animal protection organisations.
​
Art has been the heart of Dallas’ life and career. She painted and was trained at the Sydney Institute of Technology / Randwick TAFE Campus, and later at the Charlie Sheard Studio School. While continuing to paint, she was an accomplished Art Director and Creative Director at a number of profiled Sydney advertising agencies. She designed, wrote and directed press, print and television, and designed and painted artworks for packaging and advertising for Faberge perfumes amongst many other clients. From a successful career in Art and Creative Agencies, Dallas then followed her heart to paint full time in a career in the visual arts, and has been represented by galleries since 2000.
​
From her first exhibitions in Paddington, NSW, Dallas has been represented by Valerie Cohen Fine Art, House of Phillips Fine Art, Rushcutters Bay Gallery and Traffic Jam Gallery in Sydney NSW, The Jackman Gallery and Art Nomad Fine Art Gallery in Melbourne, Nissarana Galleries in Mornington VIC, Art Galleries Schubert, David Hart Galleries and Nissarana Galleries Noosa in QLD, LK Galleries in Perth WA, The Salamanca Collection in Tasmania, and Bark Modern Art in Hong Kong. Dallas' has exhibited in Shanghai as a selected artist for the Australian Art Pavilion at the Shanghai Art Fair, and in Fiji and New York.
​
For many years Dallas has used her work to support and raise awareness for charities and worthy causes. Over the last 20 years she has donated dozens of paintings to raise funds for the Cancer Council, The RSPCA, The School for Life Foundation, The Parrot Rescue Centre, My First School, and to support The Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
​
