Jim Leach's interest in art was inspired by his grandfather, who was a landscape artist in Québec. This, combined with his love of the countryside and nature, has created a passion for landscape painting that allows Leach to express the beauty of the natural world through his art work. Leach's landscape paintings employ a bold, impressionistic style. He uses vibrant colours to express the rich beauty of the Canadian landscape. Leach is continually inspired by the works of Tom Thomson, The Group of Seven and René Richard. His landscape paintings are primarily scenes from the Eastern Townships region of Québec and the Ottawa/Gatineau area. He is predominately a plein air painter and enjoys the solitude of painting in situ. Even if he is without his paints, Jim always travels with a sketch book: "I seem to be able to recollect where and when each sketch was done and what the weather conditions were at the time."
Jim Leach and his wife Carol live in Ottawa and have a son, Gregory, daughter, Andrea, two granddaughters Noelle and Amelia, and a dog named Mazy.
"Painting landscapes is a wonderful medium to allow one to appreciate the hidden colours that can be found in nature."
