Debbie Lesueur was an avid animal lover from the very beginning. She grew up living and playing in nature on a small homestead south of Johannesburg, South Africa. She also came from a family with a very strong artistic background. Debbie grew up wanting to have a career that involved animals though. Her first thoughts of a career were to be a game ranger, or maybe a veterinarian. But the thought of dealing with injured animals soon caused her to change her mind. It was her grandmother’s influence as an art teacher, who helped Debbie to express her love for wildlife through her artwork.

Debbie however believed at first that her paintings could only be treated as a hobby not as a serious career. So to be safe, Debbie got her Diploma in Commercial art and completed a Computer Graphics course. She started her career as a DTP\Graphic Artist with an added passion for photography. However, her love of painting was never far from her thoughts.

In 1998 Debbie started her career as a wildlife artist. She is a self taught painter and has developed her own unique style by using a technique that makes her paintings very realistic. With this technique she focuses on the eyes, bringing the animal to life as people view her work. Her parent’s influence of meticulous perfection has molded Debbie into being a Realist painter, however she also loves the abstract artwork that her grandfather was known for. Despite being a Realist, some of her work is actually quite graphic which is a reflection of where her art career initially began.

Debbie's wonderful artwork is recognized internationally and she has painted extensively on leather which creates a very unique and rustic look for her paintings. Recently however she has begun to paint more on canvas. Debbie describes her artwork on leather in this way, "My first Wildlife Paintings were done on leather which proved to be a unique and rustic surface to paint on. Due to demands I spent the first 12 years of my career mastering my technique and medium on leather. Occasionally I used a textured leather, even did a commission on an Elephant Ear but I favoured the smooth leather as I could get the sharpest detail! I love using strong contrasts and this made me favour black leather which also developed my technique as opposed to starting with a white background! I originally tried oil paint which was absorbed too much by the surface and did not work as well as Acrylic and that is why even today my self taught technique favours this medium."

Debbie has exhibited with the Japan Wildlife Center at the Machinda City Museum of Graphic Arts in Tokyo in 2009. Then in May of this year, Debbie was chosen to Exhibit at the Mall Gallery London in the DSWF Wildlife Artist Of The Year Competition. Please enjoy some of her wildlife paintings below.