Denise is a lifelong self-taught artist, born in Mass, and raised in California. When she was young, she danced in thunderstorms, and impersonated Elvis, for her girlfriends. Working as an art teacher, while communally raising two children, allowed her to pursue her own art. She then moved to a small town, where she was finally able to paint life-size canvasÕs, with timeless attention.
Leite has titled her collective body of work ÒUniversal Intimacies©Ó. With the enthusiasm of truth, she has created characters archetypically charged with the warmth of lifeÕs altering experiences. These storied faces beckon knowingly, with paradoxical humor, evoking fertile hearts with ancient complexities. Denise conveys, ÒMy paintings symbolize the universal beauty that is discovered through the intimacies of the human soulÓ.