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Lesley Blackburn trained as a fine artist in 1979 at Winchester School of Art, where she studied for a BA in Art and Sculpture. At the time, many art students had limited opportunities, often relying solely on mainstream galleries to showcase and sell their work. For much of her career, Lesley worked as a nurse and midwife, but in 2009 she returned to her artistic roots and began selling her artwork online.

Since then, Lesley has sold paintings to collectors around the world, including in the United States, Canada, the UK, Europe, Dubai, South Africa, and Australia. Her painting style focuses primarily on impressionism, with a particular love for waterlilies inspired by Monet. Having lived in Venice briefly as a student, she developed a strong affection for the city, which has influenced many of her Venetian-themed paintings over the years. She also paints seascapes and enjoys working in a richly textured style using a palette knife.

Her influences include iconic artists such as Monet and Turner. Lesley also explores abstract expressionism, creating drip paintings inspired by American artist Jackson Pollock. On occasion, she produces work influenced by Gustav Klimt, whom she deeply admires. A love of colour runs through much of her practice, especially in her floral pieces, which reflect inspiration drawn from the vibrant works of Henri Matisse.

Each of her original artworks is signed in the bottom right-hand corner and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Lesley is committed to creating and selling only original work, choosing not to participate in NFT or digital art markets, and rarely offers prints—believing it is far more meaningful to own original pieces.

Lesley has exhibited her work in numerous exhibitions over the years. Notably, she showed at The Malvern Theatres in Worcestershire in 2009 and 2011. She is a resident artist at the Corner Gallery in Carshalton, where her work has been showcased for several years in an ongoing partnership. More recently, she held a dual exhibition at the Norman Plaistow Gallery in Wimbledon in 2023.

In addition to gallery exhibitions, Lesley collaborates with events companies—most notably ACVR—through which she regularly exhibits and sells her work. These events are held in locations such as Guildford, Farnham, Alresford, and Putney, and are supported by promotional materials and active social media engagement.