Will McLeod

Will McLeod is a multi ⎯ disciplinary artist that works mainly within two mediums, textiles, and painting. His specialty is crafting meticulous and epic sewn works that mirror his hallucinatory paintings and sketches on paper.

Before this art practice, Will worked in NYC in fashion, specializing in women’s wear design. McLeod studied and graduated from The Fashion Institute of Technology, then started his own line in 2009; it was a glorious flop! Undeterred he grunted his way into product development and worked with the garment district’s factories, patternmakers, sample rooms, embroiderers, pleaters, and vendors as a liaison between the designer and the skilled laborers making the garments. During this time (between 2010 ⎯ 2011) Will continued to design, sketching every morning before schlepping into midtown to work.

In 2011 Will also began working alongside his peer and friend Tanya Taylor, creating, and growing her eponymous brand and notably designing multiple dresses for former first lady Michelle Obama, and gaining entry in to the CFDA. McLeod chose to leave the fashion industry in late 2016 though, to pursue art for art’s sake instead. McLeod is currently working on two new textile projects: “THE NOSEBLEED”, a 47’, 14 paneled, sewn, dream ⎯ like opus, and a series called “Sketches” that explore his jangly, psychedelic studies on paper. Will lives in Hudson NY.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT : A selection of these fashion illustrations is presented at ArtSee. These works are a time capsule into McLeod’s artistic visions. The looks are heady, magpie explorations into McLeod’s imagination. Using a calculated and organic approach to surface treatments, styling, and color movement, each design tells a sculptural story of a person that’s both coming undone and blooming. In retrospect, the clothing was like a vehicle or canvas for Will’s aesthetic musings ⎯ a precursor of art to come.

Materials + Dimensions : Ink, Marker, Colored Pencil on 20lb Paper ⎯ 8.5” x 11”

Artist's website : Will McLeod