About me . . .
Hi, I'm Lesley Macaulay. I've been involved in the arts my entire life. I grew up surrounded by artists in the film industry, in animation, and in graphic and fine arts, thanks to my parents who worked as designers and filmmakers both in the UK and Canada.
Though I had been drawing and painting throughout my childhood and teens, I had formal art training at the Gamble Institute of Art and Design, in Lancashire, England. When I returned to Montreal, I decided to try a different path through the arts, and chose to study Theatrical Costume and Set Design at John Abbott College and the Banff School of Fine Arts.
When not at school, I spent summers working in the costume shop at the Stratford Festival or in the animation or graphics department of the National Film Board of Canada.
​
I eventually moved to Toronto and began working on major international theatre productions such as 'The Phantom of the Opera' where I was employed as Head Jeweller, and 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' as Costume Prop Maker. I soon began to find work as both a set and costume designer in Toronto, at the National Arts Centre and at the Stratford Festival.
In 1995 my career brought me full circle, back to Montreal and to John Abbott College where I was hired as the teacher of Costume Design and Drawing, where I remained for the next 27 years.
Though I have loved teaching and designing, I decided to leave the hectic life of the Theatre behind me and return to my first love of painting and fine art. That, combined with my love of all things four-legged and furry, has led me on to yet another exciting path – ANIMAGE: Pet Portraits by Lesley.