Studio · Process · Making
Behind the
Scenes
A look inside the making — the studio, the gestures, the layers of paint that get buried and revealed again. Leead works intuitively, without a predetermined image, letting forms emerge from the act of painting itself.
"I begin with abstract spots from which I allow images to emerge on the canvas, and then develop them into different objects."
On process
The process
Leead works in her studio on a Kibbutz in Israel, surrounded by fields and eucalyptus trees. She begins without a plan — applying abstract marks and colour until something stirs. From there she digs in: layering, scratching, covering, and exposing. A single canvas can go through many lives before it becomes itself.
She works primarily in acrylics and mixed media on canvas, sometimes incorporating oil, collage elements, and found materials. Scale matters to her — many works are large enough to occupy a room, demanding space and presence from the viewer.
Influenced by the children she teaches and the uninhibited freedom they bring to mark-making, her paintings embrace imperfection. The figures that emerge — with their disproportionate heads and expressive gestures — carry the weight of folklore, myth, and deeply personal memory.
"It is only out of density that one can breathe — as only from darkness can the light be seen."
On her first solo show, 2013
"Art is the only place I have true freedom. I paint to find the authentic self-expression that is unique to me."
On motivation