About Leafy Dumas

She was christened Alethea, but the world has called her Leafy for as long as she has lived.

Leafy had a nomadic childhood, living in Africa, the Middle East,  Europe and the Caribbean.  After attending nine different schools she graduated from Exeter College of Art with a First Class Honours Degree. 

Leafy currently lives and works on Mersea Island.   Cut off by high tides and surrounded by mud and saltmarsh, Mersea is England’s most easterly inhabited island.   Leafy’s love of Mersea stems from childhood memories sailing and playing in the muddy creeks.  She has strong ties with the island.  Her parents kept (and still keep) a gaggle of boats and a home in Mersea, always coming back between postings around the world. Her grandparents also had a cottage in the old City.  Leafy is a seasoned sailor and a member of West Mersea’s lifeboat crew.

Her work is inspired by island life and her love of the sea.  She is best known for her images of english nautical nostalgia. You can see more of her work on her website www.leafydumas.co.uk where she describes herself as an Artist, a Sailor and a Maker of Things.