House Portraits: Craftman Homes in Asheville, North Carolina

We recentely attended the annual Arts and Crafts Convention in Asheville, North Carolina and discovered a wonderful array of craftsman style homes. Many had attractive gardens and were painted in traditional colors.

Here are two of my first Asheville House Portraits!

Cheers,

Leisa

House Portraits: Tudor Houses and Bungalow Homes in Lansing Michigan

I recently painted my first house portraits of bungalow homes and Tudor houses in Lansing Michigan while visiting family. Lansing has some beautiful historic homes and buildings. It was nice to capture them on my canvas.

House Portrait of Bungalow Home in Lansing Michigan

House Portrait of Tudor House in Lansing Michigan

I especially like the wrap around cedar shingle roof of the bungalow which the owner of the home (and owner of the bungalow house portrait) told me he spent three months building. The Tudor house, which has a custom built Tudor garage, I found nestled in the tree-lined west side neighborhood of Lansing. The owners of the home now have their Tudor house portrait hanging proudly in their home.

Cheers, Leisa

Bungalow House Portrait in Del Ray, Alexandria

One of the cutest!

This little bungalow at 1803 Commonwealth Ave, is one of the older ones in Del Ray, and it is still very much in it's original state. Here's a photo of the house and my house portrait.

These are some shots of the interior, showing an original cabinet
and window, the guest room and believe or not the original garage
out back.

Cheers
Leisa

More Del Ray House Portraits -- with the family included

More in my Del Ray series and recent house portrait commissions

Here are some more paintings that were part of my show last Saturday at Show of Hands. These three scenes are located on Mt Vernon Ave, the main street of Del Ray.

Have some great home portraits as well that include friends and family.

More to come.

Leisa 

Depictions of Del Ray - my upcoming art show!

Del Ray House Portraits - New Series!

I've always loved Del Ray Alexandria.  I love it's eclectic blend of architecture and especially the bungalow homes, the artsy funky bright colors and most of all its true sense of community and family living. It reminds of growing up back home in New Zealand.  These are the elements that inspired me to create the Del Ray Community Mural last year at the Mt Vernon Rec Center.

However, notice a difference with these portraits.  They all include animales and PEOPLE!  Let's face it, it wouldn"t be Del Ray with out these vital elements.

Below are homes and people on E. Del Ray Ave, Randolph Ave and E. Wyatt Ave. Del Ray.

Happy viewing and more to come....
Leisa

Garden Art Workshop this Saturday!

Let me know if you can make it... or if you have any questions. 
River Farm is truly beautiful at this time of year. Hope to see you there!
Leisa

Commissioned Artwork in New Zealand

Escaping to a beautiful summer in New Zealand

Instead of suffering the snow and ice in northern Virginia I made a trip back home to New Zealand. I saw my family --which is always a thrill -- spent time at Wainui Beach in Gisborne, attended the wedding of my nephew Troy and married my sister Simone in a lovely forest in Rotorua.  And of course I did lots of paintings -- including commissioned artwork.

Here I am lazing in Drift Inn Wainui Beach with coffee in hand.

Here is the wedding of Paul and Simone and the painting I did for them as a wedding present, showing them walking up a sunlit path and into the future....

This is a commissioned painting I did while at Lake Waikaurimoana.

But it ended all too soon... and before I knew it I was back in Old Town Alexandria observing the very first signs of spring.

Leisa

Zooming into 2011!

So much is happening and its been so long since I have posted.  It's cold here in Virginia but I will shortly to be experiencing the New Zealand summer.. for the rest of this month.

Have continued to do house portraits here in Old Town Alexandria and further afield. Here is a portrait in the Fall and a wintery one from a couple of weeks ago.

Since last posting I have put out my first Old Town Calendar and note cards and finished a 60 foot mural about human rights and community spirit. I was recently appointed to the Alexandria Commission for the Arts along with my business and community partner, Camille Leverett (see story in Alexandria News) and have done tons of commissioned art work.  Some fun portraits, among other things.  Below is Lady BeautyFull, the mascot for BeautyFull Boutique.

You'll hear from me next in New Zealand!

Ciao for now, Leisa

Unleash your Creativity Art Lessons!

The idea that creativity can be enjoyed only by a select few is FALSE!  The greatest joy there is in life is creating.  Sometimes however, we need a little help to bring out our creative abilities. 

I have been asked repeatedly about giving art lessons and now that I have my new Creative Art Nexus space I have the perfect venue for this.  Here's the info, but don't hesitate to get hold of me with your questions. I always love hearing from you.

Have a creative day!
Leisa

I've formed a new group, "Creative Art Nexus"!

Due to the huge interest generated from artists, youth and the community regarding the Del Ray Community Mural project, (see details in  my posting yesterday) I decided to form a new group called Creative Art Nexus. (CAN) Our slogan is "Artists CAN bring change!  Here's my logo.

My new home for CAN is located at 118 N. Fayette Street, Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. I am sharing a wonderful 3,000 square foot space with Camille Leverett, the owner of a new store called the BeautyFull Boutique. Its a cool, artsy consignment shop for women size 14 and up.  CAN will become a new  local community art hub while providing an art mentorship program for youth.  I will also give art lessons to both adults and children.   The wonderful gallery setting of BeautyFull Boutique provides a perfect venue to showcase the work of CAN and to display my own art work plus the original art of other social minded artists involved with CAN. 

Our Grand Opening is next Wednesday, 13th October. There is an Open House between 11 - 5pm and the ribbon cutting with local city representatives is at 3pm.  Here is your personal invite!

Catch ya later,
Leisa

Thinking Big - 60 foot painting of Alexandria street scene takes form

My latest project has been to organize a LARGE SCALE "pen and watercolor" of a street scene within the community spirited main street of Del Ray, Alexandria.  The 60-foot mural shows how the city of Alexandria supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through the depiction of every-day  activites in Del Ray --activities that are the very essence of any real community.  The bulk of the painting of the mural took place last Saturday, coninciding with Del Ray's Art on the Avenue. 

See article in Del Ray Patch.

 

Right now we are in the process of doing the finishing touches on the mural.  Have a look at our  "making of a mural" sequence below. . .

 

 

 

Cheers!

Leisa

My "On the Streets of Old Town" Show opening tonight!

After completing over 30 Old Town House Portraits in my series, I am now painting Old Town street scenes as well.  My first pieces can be seen in this show which is being held at a charming antique store on King Street in Old Town Alexandria, called Imperfections.  Here are the details -- all are welcome!
Leisa

My Growing Old Town Historic House Portrait Series

We're now settled into Old Town Alexandria and my series of historic homes is continuing to grow.  There are currently eight paintings in the series, as displayed here in my new studio in North Alfred Street Old Town.

Here is one of the latest in my project: The Faces and Homes of Historic Old Town Alexandria -- Connecting the Past with the Present.

This charming home at 217 South Columbus Street, Old Town Alexandria, was built in the early 1800's.

It's current owner is Amanda Washburn who purchased it in 1986. Amanda has lived in Alexandria for 30 years. A passionate supporter of Old Town preservation, Amanda is responsible for the vibrant colors of the house and for keeping it's historic fabric in tact.  Here's Amanda's statement as to why she loves Old Town: "Old Town exudes history.  It's also a true community. The houses are so authentic, they're priceless. And most of all I love my cobblestone drive!"

More to come....

Leisa

Moving into Old Town -- Day One

I'm so excited to be right in Old Town! Last night, after loading the last of our stuff in our wagon and arriving at our new home/studio to unload, my husband Bruce and I were looking for a reason NOT to have to start the ascent of two flights of narrow and somewhat slanting 200 year old stairs with endless loads of heavy boxes and art bags.  In Old Town we are quickly discovering there are wonderful diversions! Even though it was 9.30pm, we WALKED just 200 yards from the studio out on King Street and experienced the "nuevo Latino cuisine" of the Cafe Salsa.  Wonderful meal!  At that stage there was no further excuse and the last of our "work-out sessions" began.  

At midnight we collasped into our air bed (how do you get a real bed through the door?) Today I am putting order into the chaos! Right now it looks more like a train wreck. These are my BEFORE photos...

And so you can see that my whining about the stairs is justified, check this out. Now that is one narrow entrance!

          

In the morning we watched the sun rise (from bed) over an Old Town skyline. Awesome! At 7.30am I went into my studio and stood at my easel -- this is the view I saw! Now THAT is inspirational!  I'm dying to get at that empty canvas on my easel.... but I have my battle plan for the day and there will be no more deviations!

For now, it's back to work.

Leisa

My New Studio - Right in the Heart of Old Town Alexandria

Here it is, my new studio and our new home!  It's at 105 North Alfred Street, just half a block from King Street, Old Town's main drag.  The building is the now the home to St George Gallery, which specializes in beautiful hand made Ethiopian furniture and decor accessories.  The building is over 200 years old and has been granted a plaque by the Historic Alexandria Foundation for it's historic excellence. 

We have the top floor. Lots of light, high ceilings... perfect. I'm itching to start painting!
Leisa

From Spring in Duke Street to Spring in Cameron Street Old Town Alexandria!

Continuing my House Portrait Series,  The Faces and Homes of Historic Old Town Alexandria -- Connecting the Past with the Present

This next home is a one of the most untouched original homes I have seen in Old Town -- both inside and out.  It could be transported to a museum site as so much of the historic fabric is in tact.  The date it was built was 1796 - 1804 and it is called the Ramsay-Snowden House, named after the two original owners. 

The current owners owners are Richard and Trish Klingenmaier. They were able to provide me with a wealth of information about the history of their home and Richard, I discovered, is quite a history buff when it comes to Old Town.  He has become my "historical consultant" and so far there isn't one question he's not been able to answer!

Onto the next one!
Leisa

More Old Town Alexandria House Portraits in my Series

This is a lovely home in Duke Street, owned by two lovely people, June and Bob Nemchin (see below).  They are both retired now. June was in the interior design business -- you can tell as soon as you enter the house-- and Bob is a chemistry researcher and an impressive freelance photographer.  The Nemchins are very fond of art and their home also serves as a gallery of original art and photography. 

I chose their home as part of my house portrait series of Old Town Alexandria as I love the unique rose pink hues (that was June's creation of course) and the three flags in a row caught my eye.  The Nemchins were granted a plaque by the Historic Alexandria Foundation which is proudly on display.  They have kept their home very much to the original, complimenting it with antique furniture and a great patio garden out back where spring colors are now bursting forth! 

My Lastest Old Town Alexandria House Portrait - Third in Series

Here's my third pen and watercolor painting.  A gorgeous home in Wolfe Street Old Town Alexandria. Love those spring colors!  The original is now in the hands of the home owner, my new friend, Tom Amontree. He has decorated the interior beautifully, in vibrant but earthy complimentary colors.  Tom gave me a tour and even showed me the trap door leading to the basement that was once part of a morgue -- that's right!  Last century this building was an Old Town funeral home. 

Here's Tom and his house!

That's all for now. Doing more homes. Can't get enough of Old Town!

Leisa