Category: House Portraits

My first Most Art Inspiring House Portrait Contest and there will be more! It is my way of giving back to home owners who put so much time, money and love into making theirs homes beautiful.  They make my job so enjoyable!  The joy of doing original art is that every home is totally unique and therefore every final Leisa Collins Art portrait is also one of its kind. And the winner of the May 2015 Most Art Inspiring House Portrait Contest is . . . Jorie and Charley Vandenberg and their beautiful home in Ada, Michigan! [caption id="attachment_5945" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The winning home in Ada, Michigan![/caption] Thank you to the contestants. here are some of them below. The final voting results were very close See the other entries on…

The art of  the porch and outdoor patio ... One thing I love about living in South Pasadena is the interesting array of Craftsman and bungalow homes with their notably distinctive front porch design features. My love for porches further increased when my husband Bruce and I became familiar with a website called  Front Porch Ideas and More.  We also quickly became friends with its creators, Mary and Dave Morris, who we met for the first time last week when they came out to Los Angeles from their home in Nashville TN  to see family. [caption id="attachment_5925" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Dave and Mary with me and Bruce[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5926" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Mary and me[/caption] We had a really enjoyable time, chatting over lunch, and hanging out on our patio. Bruce and…

The story of the Commissioned Architectural Painting  A young couple in Georgetown DC decided that wanted me to create a large and vibrant painting of their house and street to hang on a brick feature wall in their home. The first step was the planning stage to work out the best angle and composition. [caption id="attachment_5814" align="aligncenter" width="500"] A rough sketch of the general lay out is the first step[/caption] Here is the main photo that was used, minus the cars of course! Love the colors of these homes. Georgetown, besides being one of the most historic neighborhoods in DC, it is also extremely popular as a tourist site and hang-out for just about anyone.  It's hard to believe that after WWI Georgetown became one of the worst slums in…

Watercolor home portraits for your enjoyment... Another fun and interesting week in the land of architectural art and unique homes. We'll start with the west coast. This is stately Spanish home is one of the first in my Valley Village house Portrait series.  Valley Village is a lovely neighborhood in the North Hollywood area. [caption id="attachment_5805" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Interesting Spanish home in Valley Village N. Hollywood[/caption] Now take a look at this magical home in Glendale. I chose this one as it reminds me of a fairy tail home with some wild English garden influences. And you should see the back of home.  There is more beautiful garden along with a fully outfitted "English Pub" called "The Edison.  I plan to go and take photos soon and will do a…

Win a house portrait of your home -- worth $500! As a homeowner myself, I know that there are a lot of expenses involved in keeping your home looking beautiful and sometimes purchasing a portrait of your house is not on the top of your priorities! I have decided to start a tradition to give back to homeowners of art inspiring homes. Every 6 months I will run a contest where the winner will receive a FREE pen and watercolor painting of their home as a thank you for having an art inspiring home!  The value of this painting is $500! Here's what you have to do to enter. 1. Select an existing photo of your home.  Or alternately walk outside and take a photo of it.  2. Go to…

To celebrate spring I am hereby announcing my Spring Sale!  That's 20% off any commissioned house portrait.   You may want to capture your gorgeous spring blooms in a second "spring portrait" of your home that can hang alongside your current painting or perhaps you have a house portrait gift idea for a friend or family member. Now is the time! Meanwhile, please enjoy some of my favorite spring homes! Forest St, Rockville MD   Del Ray, Alexandria, VA Kensington, MD   Here's to a lovely spring!  Leisa

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…

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…

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"]…

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.…