Art Blog

05Apr 2015 by Leisa
Watercolor Portraits of Modern Homes and Buildings

Watercolor Portraits of Modern Homes and Buildings

House Portraits
Modern homes are fun and artistic too! I don't get too many requests for commissions of more modern homes and buildings so I always enjoy them when they come my way. From time to time folks ask me for examples of some of my modern homes so I have collected up a few to put into this post. Lets start with a REALLY modern building that I was recently commissioned to do in Burbank, CA.  Rather than giving the existing building a face lift (excuse the pun)  this one was a newly constructed.   It is the home of the Plastic Surgery Center of Burbank. [caption id="attachment_5729" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Home to the Plastic Surgery Center in Burbank[/caption] Still in Burbank but at the other end of the spectrum, with this…
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05Apr 2015 by Leisa
Beautiful Watercolor Gardens

Beautiful Watercolor Gardens

House Portraits
Gardens that bring life and color to the home I love nature, trees and of course gardens. I love wild out of control English gardens, cultivated French gardens,  sunny Italian courtyard gardens and creative art and sculpture gardens.  Anything that grows, with color and form and texture is fascinating to me. So this post is to celebrate all of the people who create beautiful gardens, and all of my clients who have commissioned me to capture their garden life in a pen and watercolor painting. [caption id="attachment_5741" align="aligncenter" width="500"] I love gardens...[/caption] Additionally you will note that when I select a home to do a portrait of, or am commissioned to create one, I never solely focus on the home but equally on its garden and natural surroundings.  This way…
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05Apr 2015 by Leisa
House Portraits of the Week

House Portraits of the Week

House Portraits
Homes in watercolor and the arrival of Spring! After a brutal winter on the east coast area this year, there is finally a first glimpse of Spring!  Daffodils are starting to pop up out of forlorn brown gardens that have been suffocated in snow for the last few months.   Here is some evidence of this (OK I helped things along a bit in the garden below based on notes from last year...) with this gorgeous historic Tudor on Hillbrook Lane in the DC area. Note the flowering Dogwood Tree and the pink and white Azaleas. Following this is another home in North West DC, this time a fabulously maintained Craftsman on Macomb Street. [caption id="attachment_5706" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Beautiful Tudor on Hillbrook Lane NW DC[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_5710" align="aligncenter" width="500"]…
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31Mar 2015 by Leisa
Fun Re-purposed Art Project for our Bedroom

Fun Re-purposed Art Project for our Bedroom

Repurposed Homes
Livening up our loft bedroom  I decided I needed to fill the big gaping space above our bed. It's been calling me for a while.  I definitely didn't want to put up my own art. Something historic, something re-purposed, something inexpensive. I was wandering through the Pasadena Architectural Salvage store for inspiration.  It's a great place by the way.  I found this old ceiling from a Victorian home.  The painted white front was pretty boring... But then you look at the back of this tile panel.   Its got a natural tarnished, oxidized rusty look. Lovely!   I then used some of my acrylic paints, ultra marine blue and green  and purple to deepen the color in the panel. The next step was fun. I used some gold paint (Liquitex…
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28Mar 2015 by Leisa
Students Do Art Against Drugs!

Students Do Art Against Drugs!

Do Art Not Drugs
Renaissance Academy in Altadena gets into ART-ACTION Had fun this week with a very talented group of  students of the Renaissance Academy which is located not far from me in the mountain city of Altadena on a really cool sprawling tree filled four-acre campus. It consists of large classrooms, a science lab, art room, play yards and garden. These students put their artistic talents into action by taking part in a painting activity which I held at the school.   Thirty-five kids from 3rd – 8th grade created their own original paintings -- the theme. . . Do Art Not Drugs!   I recently started the Do Art Not Drugs initiative to help teach kids to steer away from drugs when first confronted with them and realize that creative pursuits are…
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25Mar 2015 by Leisa
House Portraits of the Week!

House Portraits of the Week!

House Portraits
Original Watercolor Paintings of Homes across the USA I am catching up with a couple of weeks of portraits here.  We will start our house portrait tour this week in California.  Who says Southern California doesn't have seasons?  Take a look at this cute cottage in Burbank that is bursting with the charm and color of Spring. [caption id="attachment_5673" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Charming Spring cottage in Burbank, CA[/caption] You can tell that I am working on my Burbank house portrait series right now. Below is another Burbank home, this time a stunning Spanish Bungalow that was built around the 1930's. The owners have done a wonderful job with this home. I was especially attracted to what I am calling the Ivy covered "front turret", the entrance arches and the castle-like roof line.…
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26Feb 2015 by Leisa
Do Art Not Drugs Show a Hit!

Do Art Not Drugs Show a Hit!

Do Art Not Drugs, News
A light-hearted Art Show . . . with a serious message! This was a fun one!  Held during the South Pasadena Arts Crawl, I had a wonderful array of artists  joining me.  They included: Carl Christensen and his woodwork creations; Lena Quagliato and her paintings with "tea" as well as realistic nature paintings; Katie Dean and her beautiful line of handmade jewelry: Theodore Sveningsen, an accomplished artist who displayed his interesting etchings; photographer Christine Murphy and her lovely nature photos and Kayla Cloonan who displayed a number of attractive miniature abstracts in oil. Key to this exhibition was it's theme -- Do Art Not Drugs!  Why this theme? Because drugs stultify and destroy creativity!  And not just street drugs but equally as dangerous and "legal" pharmaceuticals that are handed out…
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12Feb 2015 by Leisa
What does a House Portrait in Jordan look like?

What does a House Portrait in Jordan look like?

House Portraits
 A house portrait story that goes beyond the shores of the USA. . . One of my clients who lives in a lovely historic home in Washington DC told her father, who lives in Jordan, about my work.  He then commissioned me to create paintings of his home. This was an exciting project as I had no idea what a home in Amman, Jordan would look like. Before long I was sent a battery of photos of the home to use in making my recommendations on how to best portray it as a work of art. My two favorite choices were the photos below. I love the garden and grandeur of the front and yet the the angle showing the pool is also very interesting.          …
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12Jan 2015 by Leisa
From House-Wreck to Charming Chateau!

From House-Wreck to Charming Chateau!

Repurposed Homes
When it comes to homes, there is nothing more fascinating than inspiring before and after transformation stories. Being that I have so many wonderful clients around the country with interesting stories I have decided to share some of these with you. This is a classic one.  Here is what this Burbank California property looked like when Mark and Lori Rolph, purchased it a few years ago.  Being the owners of  MCR Construction, Inc., a company with a reputation for its creative design flair and building finesse, they were fortunately well qualified for the task ahead. The property when first purchased -- in it's house-wreck state.   As you can see here, they built up from the general footprint of the home, making the most of their corner lot, nestled under the Verdugo…
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