Leanne M Christie
I first encountered Leanne’s work at an art fair in Vancouver in 2024. As I wandered through the booths, her paintings immediately caught my eye. I lingered there for a while, drawn to her brushwork, which felt both precise and intentional while creating soft, atmospheric landscapes.
Many Vancouverites will recognize the places she paints. I remember a visitor beside me identifying nearly every location in a series of small square works. Even if you are not familiar with the city, her urban oil paintings capture a mood that resonates far beyond Vancouver.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“I am a full-time urban oil painter who has spent sixteen years mastering paint as a living language of human experience. My work captures not how places look, but how it feels to be human within them, creating visual recordings of the conversations I have with the city as it transforms around us. Through dynamic brushwork and intuitive colour relationships, I help long-time residents see themselves reflected in the essence of their urban environment.”
Ten Quick Questions
What is the story behind your name? Not much. Part of our family heritage is Irish and my parents liked ‘Leane’ - they added an ‘n’ for Leanne
What is a book you would recommend to a friend? The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge MD
What is one of your pet peeves? Feeling like I am being manipulated or funnelled or tested for fun.
What is a noise or sound you love/hate? Any sound that is sudden and intrusive that breaks the flow of the ambient sound of a space.
What is a smell you love/hate? Hate: smell of acrid smoke from burning. Love: garlic and coffee.
Where is a favorite place on Earth? Next to my wife.
What is a dream you have? To create a painting that is not only masterful in my assessment but also communicates deeply with people.
What was an embarrassing moment in your life? Too many to pinpoint one - I don’t really embarrass anymore due to this as I had to stop taking myself seriously.
When was the last time you cried? During a heated conversation.
What is something most people don’t know about you? I am shy and introverted. I have learnt to communicate so most people think that I am bold and extrovert.
Available Artworks
The Gentle Stroll of Autumn
Oil on canvas, 47” x 62”
CAD 10,300
Growing up in South Africa, the sky was absorbing. When I was studying in the Eastern Cape, I used to cycle up to the airstrip on the hills above town to sit under it. The lowered horizon line gave the sense of a full, unbroken dome. I've always felt a bit lost when I can't see the whole thing, and I find myself pulled toward places where you get that feeling of the universe actually moving around you.
Vancouver doesn't give you that easily, as the mountains always frame everything. But there's this stretch along the West Vancouver waterfront where the feeling returns. You're standing at the edge of the Pacific, and the sky above is never still. The mountains meeting the open ocean air create these constantly shifting cloud formations, and the space feels enormous, eternal, and expanding.
Expanding Time
Oil on canvas, 60” x 48”
CAD 12,800
Port Moody was supposed to be the end of the line for the Canadian Pacific Railway until someone changed their mind and they went further west. The Vancouver Port was born. Port Moody maintained its local, quiet identity and its ecological edges, which are preserved today.
I love standing on the inlet, hidden amongst the trees. The northern mountains are just there, stretching forever north, and the whole place has this easy connection to the world around it; you're not cut off from anything, just slowed down a bit. The seasons shift, and you actually notice them shifting.
And there's usually a bulk carrier at the Pacific Coast Terminal; you can see a suggestion of it in the painting. It's an echo of what this place almost became, and that makes the feeling of connection stronger, a connection with place and history.
