Artist Jill Leeson Finds Inspiration in a Steamboat Winter
03/31/2026 10:57AM ● By Skylar Leeson
For longtime Steamboat Springs local Jill Leeson, this winter’s seemingly endless mud season has offered an unexpected source of inspiration. Her newest piece, “Summit Pine,” captures a resilient pine tree standing strong through one of Steamboat’s driest, most prolonged winters – an image that feels both timely and distinctly local.
“I wanted it to portray a sort of eternal mud season, yet show that there is still beauty within it,” she says.
Jill’s piece is part of Pine Moon Fine Art’s April exhibit, “Equinox,” an all-gallery exhibition. Her journey at Pine Moon has evolved organically over nearly a decade. When the gallery first opened in 2016, she joined the team not as an artist, but as their accountant. At the time, painting was more of a personal passion than a professional pursuit.
That changed in 2021.
“Following a new chapter in my personal life in 2021, I embraced the opportunity to focus on painting," Jill says. "By 2022, I joined the Pine Moon Gallery as a guest artist and soon became a co-owner, drawn to its authentic artist-run and artist-owned philosophy.”
Since then, Jill has been showing her work at Pine Moon and has grown to love being part of the collective.
“It’s such a great group of people and just a really cool team,” she says.
She is looking forward to the shows she has coming up this spring and summer at the gallery, including a special collaborative exhibition in June with fellow artist Sandi Poltorak. The show, titled “7 & 7,” will explore the contrast between the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues, interpreted through nature.
“Stay tuned for our June show,” Jill says.
With inspiration drawn from Steamboat’s landscapes, whether autumn's peak colors or winter’s muddy trails, Jill continues to capture the rhythms of mountain life. And if “Summit Pine” is any indication, even the strangest of seasons can yield something beautiful.