Between House Portraits and Landscape Paintings -- A Bit of River Rafting Relaxation

I have been very busy lately working on a number of commissioned Home Portraits and Landscape Paintings, but seeing as I am also in the beautiful outdoor world of New Zealand and enjoying precious time with family, I took a few hours out for a bit of relaxation with my husband and kiwi relatives -- a river rafting adventure on the Kaituna River near Rotorua that included a 7 meter high waterfall!  Not all that relaxing but great fun!  Thanks to the River Rats Adventure Professionals who provided us with everything we needed for a splendid afternoon on the river.

Enjoy the photo sequence of our rafting team going over the 7 meter waterfall and take note of the frame where the raft disappears completely -- that's the handle of my paddle you can see just barely poking out from the froth of the waterfall.  You can see we nearly tipped at the bottom, too, but we made it safe and sound in the end!  Another inspirational adventure completed!

Leisa
www.leisacollins.com

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Art with a Message

House portrait of Mountaineer’s Café at Aoraki Village Mt Cook

It was sad to leave Mt Cook and the cozy Old Mountaineer's Café nestled in Aoraki Village Mt Cook but it had to be done. We departed at first light this morning but it wasn't till last night as I sat in the café watching the last vestiges of light play on the mountain peaks that the bright idea struck me.  I would capture the spirit of the café in a pen and watercolor house portrait and leave it as a gift for my friends Charlie and Mary Hobbs, the owners and creators of the café, for their incredible hospitality. And that's exactly what I did.  Here it is.

 

Leisa  

www.leisacollins.com

leisa@leisacollins.com

Posted via email from artwithamessage's posterous

Keeping an Eye on the Mountain... Returning to Mt Cook NZ and Supporting Children and Art

Mt Cook National Park has always been one of my favorite places on the planet and here I am looking at that awe-inspiring sight once again.  New Zealand has certainly changed in the last 30 years, the Aoraki Mt Cook Village has grown significantly but one thing that hasn’t changed a bit is Mt Cook itself.

I’m watching the mountain magically emerge from behind a thick blanket of cloud as I send this post while perched at a window table in the Old Mountaineer’s Café and Restaurant, a cozy mountain retreat in the heart of Aoraki Village. It’s owned and managed by my friends Charlie and Mary Hobbs and family. Charlie is a well known Kiwi adventure and mountaineer and his wife and co-adventurer is Mary, a writer and publisher.  You will see us in the photo below with Mt Cook in the back ground.

I celebrated my return to Mt Cook by giving back to this wonderful community in support of children and art. Today I gave an impromptu watercolor lesson to the pupils of the Aoraki Mt Cook School.

But this time I won’t be away from my mountain home for so long. I’ll be returning in January where I will hold an exhibition at the Old Mountaineer’s Café and Restaurant and I’ll also give an art workshop. On a broader scale, I’m completing my latest New Zealand series of paintings while at the same time fulfilling a steady stream of commissioned work, especially house portraits, still one of my favorites.

Leisa 


Information on Leisa Collins Art:

Leisa Collins Art is the artistic endeavor of New Zealand born visual artist Leisa Collins. The company motto is Art with a Message and the primary focus is on using art for social change by promoting art in action, especially working with women artists on projects concerning children and art education. Leisa specializes in commissioned art works of all kinds and especially loves doing house portraits.  For more information contact Leisa by phone, e-mail or website.

Contact Information:

Email: leisa@leisacollins.com

Website: www.leisacollins.com

Information on commissioned art: www.leisacollins.com/leisacollins_commissions.html

Information on house portraits: www.leisacollins.com/house_portrait.html

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from artwithamessage's posterous

Enchanted Forest in New Zealand

 My first series of landscape paintings created in New Zealand.

 

This series is called Looking into the Enchanted Rotorua Forest, New Zealand

 

The forest is an elegant mix of Redwoods and native New Zealand bush. Walking into the forest you discover that everything is coated with an iridescent layer of green moss.  It's totally magical.

 

This is what I have tried to capture with these paintings. The first painting is entering the forest, the second is observing an ancient log and the third is looking into the microcosm of one square foot of a moss covered tree trunk.

 

Leisa

www.leisacollins.com

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from artwithamessage's posterous

Return to New Zealand with Art with Message

NEWS RELEASE

After two decades of social activism that took her to the four corners of the globe and gave her a firsthand view of diverse cultures and social inequities, Leisa Collins, has taken up her paintbrush again and recently returned to New Zealand and her full-time art career.

Leisa is now combining her activist and artistic skills under the motto of art with a message. Her website stresses the importance of the artist bringing about social change and her Art in Action page includes her activities in this regard. Her website also includes an on-line gallery, featuring semi-abstract as well as realistic landscape and portrait works. She regularly posts on her Art with a Message Blog and keeps her friends and clients updated through her newsletter, Art in the Making.

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Leisa embarked upon formal art training at 17, however after only a few months she abandoned the classroom, opting to learn her craft through capturing on canvas the beauty of the countryside. Exploring every nook and cranny of New Zealand, she financed her adventures by selling her work as she went. “It’s great to be back in Auckland,” says Leisa. This is my old stomping ground. It’s where I had my first studio and held my first exhibit, and many other firsts as well.” Leisa is currently creating her latest New Zealand series while doing house portraits on commission. “I have always found that to be a very fun activity in New Zealand because so many of the homes here have serious personality!”

Before returning to New Zealand Leisa completed a 7,000 mile journey across the United States that marked her reemergence into the art world and captured the faces and places of America on her canvas. Entitled Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist tour the tour started in Los Angeles on September 1 and ended in New York on October 15.

“Art is a powerful means of communication and is therefore a potent weapon to bring about change,” says Leisa. Art for me is something that goes far beyond the walls of the studio.”

Contact Information:
Email: leisa@leisacollins.com
Website: http://www.leisacollins.com/
Blog: www.leisacollinsartwithamessage.blogspot.com
Additional info on house portraits: www.leisacollins.com/house_portrait.html

Going wild with House Portraits in New Zealand

Talk about Homes with Personality!

This was another thing that really struck me when I arrived back in New Zealand – something else that I had forgotten about. The unique character imbued into every square foot of so many of the homes here is pretty outstanding! I heard somewhere that Kiwis spent more time and money on their house and garden per capita that any other place in the world. I believe it. It’s become an observable trend in these parts.

I mean where in the USA do you find “Garden Cafes”? These are an amalgamation of very fancy garden centers with trendy cafes/eateries that are set in beautiful outdoors settings, sort of a cool coffee house in a mini-botanical garden.

OK, back to house portraits. Now take a look at this house here. That’s what I call personality! It happens to be where Bruce and I am staying right now, with my sister Michelle and her husband Paul. They converted this place 20 years ago from a one bedroom beach house (batch as they say here) to this super comfortable and artsy two-story four-bedroom home. Check out the view you get from the deck. This looks over Wainui Beach which is right next to Gisborne, the first city in the world to see the dawn every single day.

And here are a few other homes in Gisborne, just chosen at random, to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

 

I am producing my first house portrait right now, a lovely lakeside dwelling just outside of Rotorua. Actually, I’m doing three watercolors of this property in order to capture all its  facets. I’ll show it to you when I’m done. . .

Leisa

Heading down New Zealand's North Island while looking out for Hobbits

Its been quite a few years since I've been back home to New Zealand.  In those years, the famous trilogy Lord of the Rings made its mark on the world stage, at the same time grabbing a fistful of Oscars  and helping to put New Zealand's scenic wonders on the map.

Ttraveling down from Auckland  through the luscious Waikato countryside, my outlook was completely different and I found myself constantly looking out for Hobbit homes nestled in the soft rolling hills or for Hobbits lumbering along the grassy farmland tracks.  This Wiakato region served as the set for Hobbiton, the famous Hobbit Village depicted in the movie. Talk about green!  That grass looked good enough to eat... and certainly some of the 60 million grass-chomping sheep I passed along with the way agreed with me.

Twenty Hours in the Air.... then Arrival in Godzone

The point of departure was Michigan, USA, then it was onto Los Angeles. After virtually all day in a cramped plane Bruce and I would have been happy to collapse into bed … but that was out of the question. At precisely 15 minutes before midnight we were in the air again, this time heading for the “City of Sails” -- Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland is the largest city in NZ and it’s also my old stomping ground. It’s where I created my first art studio, had my first art exhibition and plenty of other firsts before that.

Fifteen hours later we entered Godzone. One of the first indicators you have arrived in this revered zone is when you walk outside the airport terminal and realize you can not SEE what you are breathing. It’s safe to take long depth breaths, despite being in a large city. My Mum, Melva Collins was there at the airport to meet us of course.

Auckland sprawls out over an isthmus, which is a narrow piece of land surrounded by water, lots of water. This is the view from my Mum’s house in Western Auckland. You can see two of the most famous landmarks of Auckland in this shot, the Auckland Harbour Bridge and Rangitoto Island, once an active volcano but now extinct. The funny thing is that no matter where you are in Auckland, Rangitoto always looks the same. That’s because it is shaped like a flat round pancake with a little peak in the middle, the point of volcanic eruption many moons ago.

Well, I have to say, it’s great to be back in New Zealand – a land of endless inspiration for an artist...