Lesley graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from the University of Technology, Sydney in 1993.  Following her interest in art, she then completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Art (Plant and Wildlife Illustration) at Newcastle University in 1994.

In 1995 she became a botanical illustrator for the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney.  Here she produces black and white illustrations of new, rare and threatened species which are published in scientific journals around the world. 

Lesley has won several awards in the field of scientific illustration.  These include the Linnean Society of London’s, ‘Jill Smythies Award’ (2004), second place in the inaugural ‘Margaret Flockton Award’ (2004) and first place in 2008.

In addition to her work as a scientific illustrator she has taught botanical illustration at the Gardens and Ku-Ring-Gai Art Centre and paints for exhibition. Lesley particularly enjoys portraying native orchids and Sydney’s native flora in finely detailed watercolour botanical studies.   Her work is held in collections in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Edinburgh, New York and Singapore.