Daily Inspiration: Meet Lelanie Slater

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lelanie Slater.

Hi Lelanie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey as an artist has been a bit of a winding one. I’ve always been creative, and making things has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, but becoming a full-time artist wasn’t something I planned from the beginning.

I grew up in South Africa and eventually moved to the UK in 2022. Before making the move, I had already spent years exploring different creative paths and working with people through teaching, but it was after moving to Manchester that I began to seriously build an art practice of my own.

I started my art business in 2023, initially rather organically and with a lot of figuring things out as I went. I began selling my paintings and taking on commissions while developing my own visual language. Over time, I found myself increasingly drawn towards landscapes, old trees, forgotten places and the feeling that a familiar landscape might contain another, slightly more mysterious world beneath the surface.

My work now sits somewhere between contemporary painting and magical realism, with a strong influence from literature, mythology, nature and the landscapes around me. I’m particularly interested in creating places that feel recognisable but slightly otherworldly; paintings that invite you to linger and imagine the story beyond the edges of the picture.

Building an independent art business has been a huge learning curve. I’ve had to learn how to run a business, market myself, sell my work, teach, build an audience and create a sustainable creative career. I’m still very much learning, but I’ve gone from simply making paintings that I loved to building a small creative business around them, with collectors, commissions, exhibitions and art tuition all becoming part of what I do.

I’m now based in Manchester, where the surrounding parks, old buildings, woodland and slightly wild edges of the city provide a constant source of inspiration. A lot of my work begins with somewhere real, a place I’ve walked through or returned to, and then evolves into something a little more imagined.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. Building an independent creative career has been a very winding road, and there have been plenty of moments when I’ve had to completely rethink what I thought my life and business would look like.

One of the biggest challenges has been doing it while living with chronic illness. My health can be unpredictable, which can make the physical and mental demands of being an artist and running a small business particularly challenging. Painting, teaching, packing artwork, attending exhibitions and simply keeping up with the day-to-day business side all take energy, and there are times when my body simply doesn’t cooperate with the plans I’ve made.

There have also been the more universal struggles of trying to make a living from creative work — learning how to price my work, finding collectors, putting myself out there, dealing with self-doubt and learning all the parts of running a business that nobody really teaches you about.

I’ve had periods where I’ve had to slow down, cancel things or change direction, and initially I found that incredibly frustrating. I’m learning that building a sustainable creative career doesn’t necessarily mean constantly doing more. For me, it has meant becoming much more intentional about what I take on, allowing my business to grow at a pace that works for me, and finding ways to keep creating even when I have to work differently than I imagined.

In some ways, the difficult periods have made me more protective of the things I love about being an artist. I don’t take for granted that I get to spend my days making work that feels genuinely like me, and I’m much more interested now in building a creative life that is sustainable and meaningful rather than simply chasing constant growth.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a contemporary artist based in Manchester, UK, creating paintings inspired by nature, literature, mythology and the feeling of places that seem to exist somewhere between the real and the imagined.

My work is rooted in landscape, but I’m less interested in simply documenting a beautiful view and more interested in the atmosphere and story a place can hold. I’m drawn to old trees, woodland, gardens, architecture, forgotten corners and familiar landscapes that have a sense of history about them. I often start with a real place and then allow my imagination to take over, creating something that feels recognisable but slightly otherworldly.

I work across several mediums, including oil, watercolour and mixed media, and my work ranges from intimate paintings of local landscapes to larger pieces and private commissions. I also create bespoke paintings of places that hold personal meaning for people — essentially creating a painting of somewhere that matters to them.

Alongside my studio practice, I teach art from my studio in Manchester. I particularly enjoy helping people develop their own creative voice rather than simply teaching them how to reproduce a particular style. Teaching has become an important part of my professional life because I love seeing what happens when someone who perhaps doesn’t think of themselves as “an artist” starts to realise that they can make something genuinely their own.

I’m probably best recognised for the atmosphere in my paintings — particularly my dreamy, lilac skies, rich greens and slightly mysterious landscapes. There is often a sense that there is a story happening just beyond what you can see. Literature has always been a huge influence on me, so I think of my paintings almost as visual fragments from a story that hasn’t been written yet.

What I’m most proud of is building a career that feels genuinely like mine. I started my art business relatively organically, and I’ve gradually built it into a practice that includes original paintings, commissions, exhibitions, teaching and work with collectors. I’m particularly proud of the fact that the work has developed its own visual identity rather than me trying to fit myself into what I think contemporary art is supposed to look like.

I think that is also what sets my work apart. I’m not trying to choose between realism and fantasy. I like the space in between them — taking something real and allowing it to become a little more magical, mysterious or dreamlike while still feeling grounded in the world we actually inhabit.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For me, success is being authentic and creating a life that I don’t feel the need to escape from.

I used to think of success as something measured by achievements, money or how much you could accomplish. Now I see it much more simply. It’s waking up and genuinely loving what I do, having the freedom to make work that feels like me, and being able to build a life around the things that matter to me.

Of course, I want my business to grow and I’m ambitious about my work, but I don’t want growth at the expense of my wellbeing or creativity. I want to be proud of what I’m making, to connect with people through it, and to have a life that feels like my own.

So I think, ultimately, success is being able to say: I love the life I’m living, and I don’t need to be somewhere else.

Pricing:

• Original paintings: from around £50 for smaller works, with larger original paintings priced according to size, medium and complexity.
• Commissioned paintings are individually priced according to size, medium and scope.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lelanieslater.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lelanieslaterart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lelanieslaterart/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lelanieslater/
• Other: https://lelaniecreates.substack.com

Image Credits
Lelanie Slater