Bio

Since early childhood, Dutch-born Toronto artist Elsha Leventis (nee Brommet) has doodled eyes on every available surface except her passport. A mother of four, Elsha worked as an editor in the book-publishing industry until the death of her husband in 1995. Struggling to find meaning and purpose, she enrolled in Drawing for the Absolute and Terrified Beginner at the Art Gallery of Ontario and has never looked back. Within two years she was immersed in the Ontario College of Art and Design's full-time Drawing and Painting program, a rich and nurturing creative environment where she discovered kindred spirits with a familiar penchant for doodling on any surface and an aversion to early mornings. After graduating from OCAD in 2002, Elsha went on to pursue two post-graduate diplomas - in psychotherapy at the Transformational Arts College and in art therapy at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute - so that she could help others heal through art. She graduated in 2006 and has worked with seniors, adults and children, both in institutions and privately.

Elsha's thesis at OCAD focused on exploring eye imagery, which morphed rather speedily as the deadline loomed into her award-winning body of work called Eyescapes. Elsha's paintings have appeared in numerous juried shows, including the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, in national media such as the Globe and Mail and Style At Home, for a brief second in a movie (The Sentinel) and in HGTV host Sarah Richardson's showcase home at the Interior Design Show in Toronto in February 2008.

Elsha currently co-runs the RedEye Studio Gallery in Toronto's Distillery District and paints and conducts workshops in her fabulous loft studio in the Distillery.

Image is Black Eye I, 39 by 52 inches, $3200, framed