If you’ve met Leslie Barlow or seen her paintings, you may have noticed a certain radiance. Celebrated locally and nationally for her art and her activism, Barlow’s portraits burst with color, textures and curious moments of abstraction, revealing the soul of her subjects through the canvas.

Recently, Barlow has begun exploring something new: cosplay, that playful blend of costumes, anime and pop culture that brings fans dressed as their favorite characters to convention centers the world over. Barlow has long enjoyed cosplay as a personal expression separate from her professional art. But in a new body of work, “Us, Becoming,” she’s beginning to merge her passions. The work is ongoing, but attendees at this month’s Confluence sci-fi and fantasy convention will get a sneak peak.

Cosplay

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