Southern Colorado naturalist Mary Leslie’s paintings are the embodiment of her passion for ranching, wild spaces, and the grand vistas of the Sawatch and Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges where she lives and works. Mary began her studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design, with a concentration in graphic design. She realized early on, however, that she was more at home painting and working from life—not sitting at a computer. It was a modest commission for a mural that sent her on a decades long path of painting murals throughout the South for public and private spaces. These large-scale commissions allowed her to explore subject matter and materials while refining her sense of design and color. But mural commissions also made her yearn for more personal artistic expression. In 2020, Mary and her husband took a leap of faith and moved from Georgia to the small agrarian town of Westcliffe, Colorado. The clean break and total immersion in the Western way of life was the break that propelled Mary into the world of fine art. Mary’s paintings combine the expansive feel of murals with the vibrant, lively colors she gravitates to. Her tendency to anthropomorphize animals grew out of her desire to share her artistic conversation between painting and subject. Frequently, Mary’s horses, donkeys, and dogs on the ranch make cameo appearances along with the surrounding wildlife and flora of the desert, all of which reflect her deep-rooted affection for the inhabitants and untamed beauty of the West.