Lee-anne is excentric, a bit stubborn, open and social. They say: look at the paintings of an artist and you know what he is like..
Originally she's from Zierikzee and moved to Rotterdam in the late 70s. There she soon started working in the drawing room of an architectural firm.
She also worked as an aerobics and jazz ballet instructor, fashion model and art painting tutor.

From 2003 Lee-anne exhibits and sells her work around the world. In 2007 her works are exhibited in Knokke (belgium).
And the exhibitions are a big succes over and over again.
That is why in 2013, she dicided to start her own solo-gallery there.
Gallery Brand,
Zeedijk 685, (8300 Knokke-Heist).
Her gallery is open every Sunday and every schoolholiday day from 14.00 till 17.00h.

Lee-anne was born with a paintingbrush in her hand. Drawing was her main interest since she was a little kid.
When friends came over to play, they had to enjoy drawing or painting because that was always what it came down to Lee-anne.
She was apprenticed to artist Marja Delange and cartoonist John Baker (known in the 70s for his comic strip 'Blook' in the weekly magazine Pep). Lee-anne is mainly self-taught. Perhaps because of this, she has developed her own pasty (thick paint) technique, for which her paintings are known for.

After the death of her father, she decided to do volunteer work in addition to her work, just like him, to honor him.
Every now and then she gives painting classes at a day center for physically and mentally disabled people. She has also guided street-related artists for 12 years for the Pauluskerk (of the "well-known" reverend Hans Visser) in Rotterdam.
There she came in touch with streetartists from all over the world, learned to put things into perspective and became spiritually richer.
For example, a poor refugee from Georgia arrived one afternoon at the artist studio of the Paulus church.
The man carried everything he owned in one simple bag of what were were mainly drawings.
A manic-depressive artist who sat morosely criticizing her well-made sketches caught his attention.
He slowly sat down with her and looked at the sketches. He showered her with compliments and told her she should be very, very proud of her work.
She kept sulking, he kept cheering her up repeatedly and laughing his sweetest laugh.
In big contrast to what happened later that afternoon.
Lee-anne went to pick up her daughter who was playing with a friend and walked past the swimming pool into the villa where she found the friend's mother despondent on the couch.
The woman sighed: 'The professor canceled my philosophy lesson this afternoon and now, to spoil my day completely, my dishwasher is also broken!'..
Lee-anne presented this story on the 500th 'Dolce Vita' broadcast on Radio 1 and explained what a major impact it had on her life, and gained the first prize form the radiostation.

Lee-anne's thoughts on her drawings
''Until about 14 years ago I lived in a sunlight-poor apartment. During the periods when the gray tones predominate our Dutch skies, I often became gloomy, needed sunny colors and happy shapes.
During deep, light-hearted or wonderful conversations with friends, I noticed that I often looked at the posters or paintings on the wall.
I looked for bright colors and beautiful shapes to create a painting with that would cheer me up. Bright colors are the main subject in my paintings. Designing shapes is easy for me.
I'm quite imaginative and make sketches on scraps, newspaper or napkins that are within reach and work them out later on a canvas'' Lee-anne creates her paintings and sculptures in her studio at her house at Nancy Zeelenbergsingel 257 in Rotterdam.

''For me, making a successful painting is: painting powerful shapes with good bright color composition and a touch of humor is just like being able to sing a long with a jazz or blues song.
In short: the ultimate, warm, goosebumps kick! Fruit often swirls on my canvases, because this symbolizes sincerity, health and la dolce vita.
Furthermore fruit already has its primary colors and good shapes.
You will not encounter any threatening shapes in the paintings, the canvas should really give the viewer a good and warm feeling. Painting is communication,my great passion, my everything.''

Bold, happy, peaceful and disarming is what Lee-anne and her work stand for.