In “Artists I Have Known” at Gallery Kayafas, Leslie Sills paints herself into the worlds of artists she admires. For instance, she saw Mary Cassatt’s “The Tea” at the Museum of Fine Arts.
“‘The Tea’ reminded me of an experience I had being interviewed for a boarding school where I totally didn’t feel like I fit in,” Sills said. So she inserted herself as a teen into Cassatt’s scene. In other paintings, Sills, who has written children’s books about women in art history such as “Inspirations: Stories About Women Artists,” dances with Frida Kahlo and becomes prey for an owlish Louise Bourgeois.
We visited Sills in her world.
Age: 76
Originally from: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Lives in: Brookline
Studio: In her apartment
Studio mate: Gigi, a fluffy little Coton de Tulear
Making a living: In addition to writing and painting, Sills has taught art in after-school programs and in private classes in her home. She taught outside through COVID-19, then retired.
How she started: “My mother and father, all they wanted me to do was marry somebody that would give me a good life,” Sills said. “I was a creative little girl, but I got squelched.”
Studying psychology at Boston University in the late 1960s, she opted to focus on occupational therapy.
“I didn’t like it at all. But that semester I had to go to a pottery studio. In case I had a patient who was blind, they wanted me to be able to work with clay to show the patient how to do it. I never left the pottery studio.”
For decades, Sills was best known for her whimsical, sometimes surreal ceramic figures.
What she makes: After a slow transition from clay, Sills has focused on painting since 2012. “It’s very hard to get people to buy a sculpture,” she said. Her paintings at Gallery Kayafas range from $5,000-$10,000.
How she works: “The images come to me when I’m sleeping or going to sleep. Then I do a really scribbly, looks-like-a-5-year-old-did-it drawing.”
She composes a more formal drawing the size of her canvas, puts tracing paper on top, and traces it with a chalk pencil. Flipping that, she transfers it to the canvas. That’s when the oil paints come out.
“Once I’m using the color, I’m really fine, because I love color,” she said.
Advice for artists: “Don’t let anybody stop you. If it’s what you want to do, you’ll find a way,”
LESLIE SILLS: Artists I Have Known
At Gallery Kayafas, 450 Harrison Ave., through March 23. 617-482-0411. www.gallerykayafas.com/artists-i-have-known
Cate McQuaid can be reached at catemcquaid@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram @cate.mcquaid.
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