Award-winning figurative and landscape artist Leslie M. Nolan paints in oil, acrylic and watercolor. Her work has been in the collection of the American Embassy in Luanda, Angola and exhibited in London, U.K A Virginia-based artist, Nolan exhibits primarily in the Washington, D.C. area, and also appears in international and national juried shows throughout the U.S. See Exhibitions for an abbreviated list of her exhibitions and awards. 

Nolan studied art with well-respected international, national, and local artists, including Alex Powers, Alvaro Castagnet, Skip Lawrence, Frank Webb, Al Stine, Carla O'Connor, Don Andrews, Fran Larsen, Jean Gill, Steve Fleming, and Jackie Saunders.

Her painting style has evolved into personal, contemporary imagery, as she explores emotional themes through dynamic figures and landscapes, conveying the energy and spirit of modern life by using pattern and intense color and line.

Washington, D.C.-based art critic Eleanor Kennerly describes Nolan's work as "sophisticated," "painterly," and "a blur between the real and imagined," comprising "an accomplished, poetic whole." Another Washington, D.C. area critic, art historian and artist Josh Yavelberg, writes that Nolan's "mark is always expressive." In his review he asserts "her understanding of color and gesture allows her to pull out deeper meanings from her compositions."

Nolan is in Who's Who of American Women, and holds membership in Strathmore Artists, Potomac Valley Watercolorists, the Art League, League of Reston Artists, GRACE, and Capitol Hill Artists. She was a founding member of MAX21, a contemporary art cooperative in Reston, Virginia. Retired from the U.S. Department of State, she traveled and worked abroad, absorbing cultural influences from around the globe. 

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