13Feb 2021 by Leisa
Marin County House Portraits Blending with Nature

Marin County House Portraits Blending with Nature

Coffee Table Book, House Portraits
The Beginnings of Marin County Home Portrait Collection Marin County is a magical place that reminds me of my homeland of New Zealand, especially the hillside city of Auckland, where I grew up and first became interested in historic homes and architecture. [caption id="attachment_24726" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Hillside homes in Greenbrae, Marin Country, CA[/caption] Located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it sits across from the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Founded in 1850, Marin County is one of the original 27 counties of California.  Its founding followed shortly after the adoption of the California Constitution of 1849 and just months before the state was admitted to the Union. Marin County is the smallest of the San Francisco Bay Area counties, both in size and population. It's natural…
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13Feb 2021 by Leisa
East Grand Rapids House Portrait Collection now Grown to Forty Original Paintings!

East Grand Rapids House Portrait Collection now Grown to Forty Original Paintings!

House Portraits, News
Craftsmen, Tudors, Colonials, Cape Cods and more architectural styles captured in East Grand Rapids Collection. Grand Rapids,  known as the City of Churches,  has always had a soft spot for eye-catching architecture. Nestled just 20 miles east of Lake Michigan, the second largest city in Michigan is home to a diverse selection of beautiful neighborhoods and suburbs, both historic and eclectic but still growing with modern styles; seemingly paying homage to the designers who paved the way. One of these communities is East Grand Rapids. one of the oldest suburbs in Kent County. It sits on Reeds Lake, named after the Reed family who founded the city back in the 1830’s. It boasts a variety of home styles and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed creating each of the forty original house portrait…
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14Apr 2020 by Leisa
Bringing Spring into Your Home

Bringing Spring into Your Home

House Portraits, News
While turmoil rages in the world . . .  spring is here and knocking at your door  In the words of William Shakespeare....   “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything." Being that I love to travel, my first response to being stuck at home was outrage. When I got over that and faced the fact that this is a necessity right now, my usual optimism set in and I decided to find a silver lining in this situation.  Besides doing my usual house portrait work, I realized this is the perfect opportunity to make great strides in compiling my coffee table book so it can be published and released later this year.  I confess that I have made more progress on this project in the last two weeks…
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28Mar 2020 by Leisa
Welcome Spring!

Welcome Spring!

House Portraits
Spring has sprung! Actually this portrait was created from photos I took last bring when in Minneapolis MN.  Just love the welcoming front garden.  I would call it free-hand sculptured landscaping. Hey, I just made up a new term! This beautiful Victorian farm house style home really stood out from the crowd however. The original painting will shortly be hanging inside this home. The homeowner was kind enough to give me some info about the home which is below. [caption id="attachment_15890" align="aligncenter" width="3801"] This historic beauty has stood in this location in Minneapolis MN for over a hundred years.[/caption] This interesting snippet is directly from the homeowner: "The home was built in 1903, and the person who restored it (in 2007) did an incredible job between keeping the charm of…
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26Mar 2020 by Leisa
Nashville Homes Series!

Nashville Homes Series!

House Portraits, News
Georgian, Craftsman Homes, Bungalows, Tudors, Colonials, Cape Cods, Ranch style, and more in my Nashville House Portrait collection. Nashville is such a fun and vibrant city and its architecture is just as interesting.  Commonly known as "the Music City",  Nashville is an icon in American culture. Its where talented artists migrate for a chance to break into the industry and achieve their dreams.  With architectural gems like the Ryman Auditorium and Belmont Mansion , Nashville also has a rich history and over the decades it has attracted artists of all genres.  Though I did bring my guitar, my aspiration was to find some architectural stars for my Nashville home portrait series. One of the first architectural icons I visited in Nashville was the Replica of the Parthenon in Greece. The…
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25Feb 2020 by Leisa
San Antonio House Portrait Collection

San Antonio House Portrait Collection

House Portraits, News
Watercolor Paintings in San Antonio When I ventured into San Antonio for the first time while touring Texas I was pleasantly surprised at the sheer diversity and impressive array of house portrait styles. I guess I was expecting to see many more Spanish style homes but I found that the Greater San Antonio area has it all! In studying up more, I learned that architecture in San Antonio comes from a wide variety of sources. While it is true that many of the city's homes reflect Texas' Spanish and Mexican roots; with some influence from French builders, rapid growth in the city since the mid twentieth century has led to a fairly wide variety of interesting contemporary architectural buildings as well.  San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the U.S. and the 2nd largest…
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17Feb 2020 by Leisa
Crepe Myrtle Trees and a House Portrait in Savannah GA

Crepe Myrtle Trees and a House Portrait in Savannah GA

House Portraits
Vibrant summer color of Crepe Myrtle Trees In the last 10 years I have created around 2500 portraits of homes and historic buildings in all 50 states. And the one summer element that never fails to disappoint, due to its wonderful color, are Crepe Myrtles.  No  matter where in the country I find myself, I have to say that there are always Crepe Mrytles to welcome me. This lovely home in Savannah, Georgia, is a classic example.  It sits right by the water and is actually the first home of a  very nice newly wed couple. The wife is giving it as a surprise Valentine's gift to her husband!  I chose this home to be part of my Savannah series as I feel it is a tastefully designed new built…
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15Feb 2020 by Leisa
House Portrait – from Cold Winter to Vibrant Summer

House Portrait – from Cold Winter to Vibrant Summer

House Portraits
Omaha Home as I saw it last summer... Last summer I was driving through a lovely tree-lined street in Omaha and a classic brick Colonial Revival home caught my eye. It stood out as it was somewhat elevated and long layers of brick stairs led up to a cheerful red door -- which made it even more welcoming. The home attracted me as it was a study in contrasts, the rich warmth of the brick against crisp white trim and black shutters. I decided to make this home part of my Omaha house portrait series. I wondered what was behind those interesting dormer windows. Were they bedrooms, a study perhaps or as is sometimes the case, just storage. I couldn't help thinking that the space would probably make a wonderful…
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14Feb 2020 by Leisa
Columbus Ohio House Portrait – a lovingly maintained historic home

Columbus Ohio House Portrait – a lovingly maintained historic home

House Portraits, News
Columbus, a preservation conscious city Over the last 10 years, I have travelled to every state in the USA and as I now embark on my new series of paintings of Columbus homes, I am finding a wonderful mix of architectural styles. From welcoming Craftsmen homes, to Victorians and Queen Anns, to elegant Tudors, Colonial Revivals, Italianate styles, Ranch homes and more, Columbus has it all!  I am also seeing a general trend in the city where there is an increased awareness regards the need to preserve and protect older homes and buildings. My own experience regarding historic preservation, after traveling 50,000 miles across the USA,  is that it is the homeowner who is the unsung hero in terms of investing their time, efforts and finance into lovingly restoring and…
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