​AnnMarie LeBlanc's work captures the bond between humankind and nature - a time and place caught between the domestic and the wild, the physical and the spiritual. Her paintings are influenced by lore and cross-cultural mythologies, and they are inspired by the vast and rich ecosystem surrounding my studio in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. These non-linear, abstract narratives are shaped not by the physics of the waking world, but by a flight of spirit, a communion with nature that involves both what is observed and what is intuited. Nature’s interwoven complexities also provide the pulse and tempo that I strive to capture in my painterly brushwork. A continuous yet ever-evolving theme of “sanctuary” is one I frequently return to in my work. In an exterior world that is congested with visual and audible noise, I strive to honor the sanctuary of the garden, the woods, mountains and falls. Growing up in Southeastern Louisiana, AnnMarie LeBlanc was exposed early on to a rich life of storytelling, a blending of cultures and languages, regional lore, and history. Her creative works are inspired by archetypal subjects, mythologies, and by what is perceived and what is beyond perception in the natural world. Having long questioned the misconception that abstraction and realism are opposites, LeBlanc’s works reside on a continuum between abstraction and realism. Her paintings are not simply abstract expressions, an outpouring of energy. Rather, they are seen and felt in a spirit of intuition, a thinning of the veil. ​AnnMarie LeBlanc lives in Western North Carolina where she resides with her husband and two canine companions. Her move to the Blue Ridge Mountains came after a decision to step down from three decades as a university professor of art and design and various academic administrative appointments. She earned an MFA from Bowling Green State University, an MA from Purdue University, a BFA from Louisiana State University and completed post-graduate studies at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her areas of research include color theory and history of art and design.