Welcome to Lee Studio,

Inside you will find Leslie's Travel Companion books & artwork.

Leslie's
Armchair Travel

Lee Studio
View post on Facebook >
Thursday 19 April 2007 Mornington House Co. Westmeath, Ireland “We had an extraordinary full day touring Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, the Hill of Tara, and Trim Castle. Non-natives in America, Australia, and other long-time displaced peoples are characterized by this cultural amnesia. We are separated from our ancestral story as unnaturally as a shadow is separated from its body. Many of us don’t know the names of our great grandparents, especially the maiden names of the grandmothers, and don’t know the places where the old families lived in the old country, a place where antecedents may have lived for thousands upon thousands of years. I think of all the lost information of trades and professions, of recipes, songs, and habits normally handed down from generation to generation. Still, talents may have passed to the offspring in genetic traits. Many of us know someone who found out late in life they shared the same profession as a long line of ancestors.” https://www.leestudiotc.com/books/products/we-are-the-land-ireland.html — Excerpt and image from We Are the Land, Ireland 2nd Edition: (2007 4 11 Ireland, Map, Boyne River Valley Megaliths) #LeeStudio #traveljournal #travelbooks #Ireland #IrelandTravel #BoyneValley #CountyWestmeath #MorningtonHouse
read more >
Lee Studio
View post on Facebook >
Saturday 14 April 2007 Longueville House Mallow, Co. Cork Ireland “Somehow Simply Driving in the Blackwater River valley is lovely. Gently sloping pale green hills bend toward the curving river. Longueville House rests graciously on a rise above its long driveway. At the pale blue door we parked to unload. The wonderful old family home of the O’Callaghans welcomed us. Tea at 3:45 p.m. Turning to gaze down the huge slope of lawn, we marveled at the enormous old oaks in the field below. These oaks, we later learned, were planted in honor of the 1815 battle formation of Wellington’s troops at Waterloo to celebrate their victory.” https://www.leestudiotc.com/books/products/we-are-the-land-ireland.html — Excerpt and image from We Are the Land, Ireland 2nd Edition: (2007 4 17 Ireland, Co. Cork, Mallow, Longueville House, Front Door) #LeeStudio #traveljournal #travelbooks #Ireland #IrelandTravel #CountyCork #LonguevilleHouse
read more >
Lee Studio
View post on Facebook >
Thursday 18 September 2014 From Bunchrew House, Invernesshire to Kinloch Lodge, Isle of Sky Scotland “We traveled down the Great Glen past Loch Ness to the Isle of Skye. At the southern end, we stopped to tour the beautiful Eileen Donan Castle at the foot of the new bridge linking the island to the mainland. The Isle of Skye is the largest of the islands in the chain of islands along the west coast called the Inner Hebrides. We arrived at the Kinloch Lodge by 4:00 p.m., in time to unpack and meet in the lounge before dinner.” https://www.leestudiotc.com/books/products/six-degrees-of-latitude-travel-tales-of-scotland-and-ireland.html — Excerpt and image from Six Degrees of Latitude, Travel Tales of Scotland and Ireland: (2014 9 19 Scotland Isle of Skye, Kinloch Lodge, Looking down to the Sound of Sleat) #LeeStudio #traveljournal #travelbooks #Scotland #ScotlandTravel #IsleofSkye #KinlochHouse
read more >

About the Author

After a lifetime of writing, Leslie has decided that it’s time to share. She is now publishing her travel journals, non-fiction, poetry, and essays which will be available for purchase here on the Lee Studio website, at bookstores, and on the web. Her most recent project has been to edit thirty illustrated travel journals as a series called Leslie’s Travel Companions, referring to the little black book and tiny paint kit that she carried everywhere in her pocket.

In 2020, Lee completed Book Two of the Travel Companion series, Leslie’s Field Guide to Ireland, a pocket-sized reference to the history and culture of the land along with her favorite sites of interest in Ireland. It’s meant to be carried, referred to, and written in until it becomes a cherished memento of the trip itself. Book One, We Are the Land, Ireland, published in 2019, began with a search for understanding her Irish ancestry and ended on a romping road trip with her sisters across the Emerald Isle that brought them to a surprise conclusion.

Leslie wrote the poem, “Sacred Space” in 2014 to accompany the beautiful architectural photography of the iconic Michigan home, Pine Hollow, in her book Sacred Space, Pine Hollow. Reaching deep in the past to her first book, Lee edited and authored, Backcountry Ranger, the Diaries and Photographs of Norton Pearl in Glacier National Park 1910-1913 while cozied in her tiny home-built cabin on the edge of Torch Lake, Michigan beginning in 1976 and finally publishing in 1994.

Lee lives in northern Michigan where she raised her family. She’s a lover of nature, travel, history, genetic ancestry, linguistics, and her home on the Great Lakes. Always hoping for one last adventure, she’s holding off on completing her memoir.

“I was completely charmed by this insightful and heartfelt portrait of Ireland. Leslie Lee’s descriptions of the people she met and the places she visited are so well written, so immediate, that I felt like I was there.” Jerry Dennis, Michigan Author

About the Artist

Not formally trained in art, Leslie began to draw when she traveled as a way to see more clearly what was around her. She carried a notebook, pen and tiny paint kit instead of a camera, and when everyone else was clicking away, she whipped out her kit and painted—fast. The simplicity of her paint palette and the speed with which she painted has become her signature style.

Northwest Lower Michigan defines her. She considers herself part of the landscape among the bluestems and butterfly weed, beneath the cedars, willows, and maple trees. The wind of the woods and water speak her language and sing the songs of her childhood. How will a visitor know us if we don’t know who we are? How will we venture out in the world if we have nothing of ourselves to offer? If we treasure our origins, we take these gifts out to the world as we travel, and come home again, enriched twice over. Wherever we are, every day, we create the story and the adventure of our lives. Here are her favorite stories and drawings.

After a lifetime of writing and painting in the margins of work and family, now semi-retired, Leslie has made it a priority to share. Thirty years of travel journals and paintings have been dusted off, edited, and excerpted and will be appearing here on her website as books, fine art, folded note cards and postcards, and other gifts and products for sale.

Leslie's Note Cards

All of our fine art reproductions use archival inks and paper and are suitable for framing. Giclee is another term for this process. The color and quality of the reproductions are so impeccable, it’s difficult to tell they’re not the originals until you turn them over to read the printed details of the image. Framed, they look great on the wall and make wonderful gifts.

Shop Artwork

Search Artwork

Leslie's Artwork

View All Artwork