leila shuffler
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ABOUT ME:
Hi.  Welcome to Portraits By Leila!
I am Leila Shuffler, an artist and entrepreneur living in Panama City and Tallahassee, Florida.  I specialize in pencil portraits, pencils with a watercolor wash, oil pastels and fine art oils of people, pets and places...especially the beach. I also sell fine art prints of these works. 

All my life I dabbled in art of many media, a need to me almost as important as breathing.  Some of my first experiences were sketches of my friends when I was in high school.  I wanted to be an artist but life, family and kids got in my way.  For a few decades.  Though I always dabbled in crafts I was never able to really pursue art.

One day in 2004  picked up a pencil and did a drawing of my deceased husband.  Everyone thought it was great and asked for copies.  That was the beginning of Portraits By Leila, and I haven’t put down a pencil or brush since.  Soon I was creating portraits and painting people, pets, and places.  I have developed quite a wonderful following with customers in Europe and Australia as well as around the USA.  I was even commissioned by the Art Curator of the Florida Governor’s Mansion to do a portrait of her daughters (see her comments on the ‘Happy Clients’ tab).  I was also chosen to be featured in a Tallahassee television program called “People You Should Know”.  I've won several art awards and I show in several galleries.  I have created two book covers for a Florida writer and both books are in the Florida Governor's Mansion and the Smithsonian Museum of the Cherokee.  Quite and honor!  I teach portrait drawing workshops and have had successful workshops in Georgia, Michigan, and Florida. 

I am also a very happy woman who loves life and tries to live to the fullest every day.  I have Austin, a wonderful life partner, one handsome son, Shane and his delightful wife Beth with their twin daughters Chloe & Maggie & son Blake, another granddaughter Shelby and her husband Bobby and my great grandsons Johnathan & Elton, two lovely step daughters and a son in law...  Oh yeah.  And a cat (the Kittidiot) who regularly tells me what to do…


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 My dearest Auntie Woofie, Ruth Kahler, (a.k.a   “The Queen Mum”) is a magnificent artist and retired art professor from Valdosta State University. I was exposed to her talent all my life.  She's died painting at 99 and she was my mentor and advisor.  

My background took me to numerous venues where art has been an important element of place and purpose.  I managed the Florida Governor's Mansion and was surrounded by historic art from around this beautiful diverse state and from the Ringling Museum of Art.

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