The other day I was really itching to create something. I sat down at my dining table at about 10pm looking down at an empty canvas. What should I paint?! I realized it has been a while since I have done a portrait. Back in the day before my industrial lanscape series, portraits were all I wanted to paint. I guess that was also before I became a portrait photographer. But the paint does something different than the camera. The paint captures energy and spirit that sometimes that camera can’t see. I decided to paint my friend Cristina. Not only is she beautiful inside and out.. it was a few days before her birthday.. so the timing was perfect. Here is the process of my painting beginning to end.

Cristina is a dancer. Energy and life flow through her and around her. She is beautiful in every way and I am lucky to have her as a friend.

Here are six new pieces I just created for a show at the Fullerton Art Walk this Friday!

It was really fun to create these little 4×5 watercolors! I just love watching the colors spread and blend together. I move the board around and watch the colors dance along the paper. It is so beautiful. As I turn the board the colors and water flow where they want and I only have so much control. For a moment I am the creator, and the next only an observer.

If you would like to see them in person, they will be displayed at:

The Magoski Arts Colony

223 West Santa Fe Avenue Fullerton, CA 92832

Here is a painting I have created for Paul’s Mom for her birthday. It was fun to work on such a large watercolor (16×20). I also really like working on aquaboard. It is masonite board that comes with watercolor paper that is pre-mounted to it’s surface. It allowed me to place heavy amounts of water on it without giving me trouble or buckling. I definitely will recommend it to other artists.

May day is here! One of my favorite days of the year! For me it marks the start of springtime, it is a celebration of life, friends and nature.

Ever wake up and not want to rush over to your computer to check facebook or begin the days work?.. this is how I felt yesterday. I just needed to get my hands on some paint and make something cool. I remembered that I have an old orangina bottle that I’ve been saving. I decided it would be fun to paint the inside of it to make it more colorful and shelf worthy. Here is my process below:

First I placed some scrap paper down to protect the surface of my table. Then I got out all my supplies. Paints, brush, bottle, and water jar… and oh yes, coffee!

Once I mixed my paint to my desired color, I began by brushing the bottom and upper neck of the bottle. As I did this I realized that I would not be able to reach parts of the bottle using my brush. To insure that all surfaces were covered I mixed up more paint, added water and poured it inside the bottle. From there I spun the bottle slowly and watched as every section became covered in paint.

The end result a beautiful vase that is colorful, yet maintains its shiny glass finish. Excited to create more of these soon in different colors!

Of course everyone knows who Van Gogh and has seen his paintings… But I really feel his drawings are under played. Here are a few of them below. I just love his thick to thin line variation and sense of space he creates using contour line. He wraps the lines around each shape in a very sculptural way. The depth created with the light touch of a stroke verses a more dramatic line in the foreground is a beautifully rhythmic way to portray perspective.

Little glass with painted squares

the fancy one high in the cupboard

blue and red with gold leafed edges

the light shines through you

reflecting you shine

color back upon me

and I remember.

The show turned out to be a great success! I think I had over 40 people come to my opening night. It was strange to be the only artist with work up on the walls. People kept coming up to me and asking which pieces were mine… it felt really great to reply, “all of them!” After spending so much time on my pieces it was really cool to finally show them to the world. I got pretty good feedback from them too. I wasn’t sure because I know that they are dark and not exactly flowers and rainbows. But people liked them. Honestly, I was happy being the only one who likes them, but it was nice to see that others do too. People really seemed to be intrigued with my technique. It was fun to describe how I layer my pieces using many papers, gold leaf and paint.

Now that I have done my first solo show, I cannot wait for the next one. This year I am going to Detroit to photograph some abandoned buildings and homes. Once I build up my series a bit more I think I will be ready for the next one.

Back to the drawing board!

~Leanne

Today was such a nice day, I couldn’t allow myself to work in the garage. So.. I brought the studio outside, threw on summer wear and grabbed a big glass of iced tea! The series is almost done! I have until Thursday night to complete and install all the pieces so it is ready for Fullerton’s Art Walk on Friday April 2nd.