Jane Leitch

Jane grew up immersed in art. Born in Kenya, Africa, she moved to Devon in 1953. Her mother, Paddy Langworthy, was a fashion artist in her early life before becoming a nationally-renowned fine artist, giving Jane plenty of inspiration from a young age. Pencil and paper were never far away from Jane’s hands throughout her life. From her Devonshire childhood to the other side of the world with her Australian husband, and returning to England to raise her young family in Hampshire, small sketches and hurried paintings complemented her lifelong written journalling.

She would document holidays in paint and ink, rather than celluloid. After marrying and having two boys, the family holidays would allow her the time and peace to set up her easel on the banks of a river, the wild countryside of Dartmoor or the alluring landscapes of France to capture the scenery around her. Continually challenging herself, she explored different media, from oils and acrylics to pastels and pencil, and digressed in subject matter also. The landscapes of her beloved Devon from moorland to coastline were a captivating inspiration, as too were the scenes of timeless Devonshire life; its farmers and livestock, its forests and valleys, the traditions and nuances of the rural West Country.

Jane’s renown expanded, placing her paintings upon walls in private collections throughout the UK and Europe and in America, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan. Jane continues to create myriad artwork from her home studio, with regular local, regional and national exhibitions alongside the annual Devon Open Studios.