My name is Alicia, Leesh for short. I am a Southern California-based artist who finds beauty in the overlooked, the broken and forgotten. My work plays in the space between decay and delight—where cracked sidewalks bloom with color, and desert heat gives way to strange, bright visions.
I use bold, unexpected color palettes to bring life to imagery that might otherwise be seen as bleak: crushed cans, sidewalk stains, ant trails, abandoned lots, papercuts. These elements become part of a visual language that speaks to resilience, optimism, and the absurd poetry of daily life.
Recurring motifs—like bugs—symbolize life’s little problems. In my painting Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, for instance, ants crawl across a calm hand, representing the monotonous irritations which appear everyday; the daily lives we lead following each other doing our jobs. Trash becomes treasure. Rainbows arc over dust and concrete as quiet declarations of hope.
This is art for the ones who notice the details, who find meaning in messes, and who believe that even the most rundown places can still shine.