About LeRoy
I work mainly in the media of printmaking and painting usually focusing on formal aesthetic concerns. Whether I am working objectively or non-objectively, I am most interested in controlling the visual relationships between shapes while directing light and shadow through various marks, textures, and colors. The goal is always to create an interesting image. Then if a context exists for the piece, I layer it on top of the compositional structure.
The content of my work comes out of an emotional response to social issues of my life and times. The challenge is to allow the viewer to understand these responses while keeping them visually intrigued long enough—with shape, value, marks, texture, and color—to discover their own meaning of the work.
I was raised in central Missouri where I kept myself busy by drawing and reading. After graduating, I worked as a newsroom artist for The Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MS), The Houston Post (Houston, TX) and The Mesa Tribune (Mesa, AZ).
After 15 years of drawing news-related pictures, I pursued my interest in printmaking at Arizona State University. After I received my M.F.A., I taught Foundation Studies and printmaking courses at The Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. I now live with my wife and dogs in St. Louis, Missouri, where I continue to read and draw.
Permanent Collections
Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ, “A Nice Shady Spot,” Relief Print
ASU Art Museum, Nelson Fine Arts Center, Tempe, AZ, “The Final Ya-Ya-Ya …” Woodcut Print
Amity Art Foundation, Inc. Woodbridge, CT, Serious Business, Suite of 18 prints
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, TX, Border Crossings, “Dinnertime Damn”
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ, ImPrint
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ, ImPrint
Musco Carrillo Gil, Mexico City, Mexico, “Jasper and Deanna”
Juried and Group Shows
First Impressions, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ, 2013
Oregon Ink Spot, Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, OR, 2008
L.A. Printmakers Society 19th National Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA, 2007
Disciples of Paper, Gallery Espresso, Savannah, GA, 2005
Alexander Ink, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA, 2004
Telling a Story, SCAD, Savannah, GA, 2002
New Faculty Show, SCAD, Savannah, GA, 2001
Border Crossings, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 2001
Paper in Particular, Columbia College, Columbia, MO, 2001
Pressed and Pulled, Georgia State College and University, Milledgeville, GA, 2000
Southern Graphics Council Exchange Portfolio Exhibition, School of Art, ASU, Tempe, AZ, 1999
New Graduate Exhibit, Harry Wood Art Gallery, School of Art, ASU, AZ, 1997
Two Decades of Prints, A Retrospective Show, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, 1987
Education
East Central College, A.A.
Southwest Missouri State University, B.F.A.
Arizona State University, M.F.A.