Leslie Peebles was born in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1959, lived there in the suburbs of New York City until 1971 when she and her family moved to Suwannee County, Florida where her father became a Broiler Chicken Producer for Gold Kist. Living on the 80 acre farm near the Suwannee River fostered a deep love, respect and fascination for nature. This experience, combined with few social opportunities and an outstanding High School Art Teacher, Jeffery Ann Smart Baisdon, led Ms. Peebles to grow and develop into a young artist.

Leslie attended The University of the South in Sewanee Tennessee, married after her junior year and received her B.A. in Studio Art from Newcomb College in New Orleans in 1981. Leslie moved to Gainesville in 1985 and, while raising three children, received an M.A. in Art Education from U.F. in 1994 and began her teaching career.

Inspired by teaching linoleum block printmaking to her students, Ms. Peebles began creating her own art using this medium. She joined the Center for Modern Art in Gainesville in 1996 and began showing with them in group shows and alternative art spaces. She joined Sweetwater Print Cooperative in 1999 which broadened her printmaking experiences, provided crucial equipment and space for her use and helped Ms. Peebles become an emerging regional artist.