Leslie Stoner earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors at Cornish College of the Arts, double-majoring in Painting and Photography. Stoner grew up in Northwest Montana on a large mink farm tucked deep in the woods of the Rocky Mountains and currently resides on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest.  Her imagery is a reflection of both environments; and her ongoing engagement as an artist with what lies beneath and what floats above, with an emphasis on where the two meet. Her paintings are about human emotions, fears, anxieties and self-doubt; and a reflection of her struggles to find peace within. 

She paints with encaustic, which allows her to slow down her thoughts and reflect inward. As she works, the image evolves in layers according to the chances of the materials and the seasons of her emotions. Because the medium is organic, layered and hard to predict, when painting she plays at the intersection of risk and promise.