Need Directions to Mammoth Lakes? Paint Landscapes in Bishop!

As we cruised northwest through California headed for Yosemite National Park we marveled at the beauty of this state. We also marveled at the fact that we had lived in Los Angeles for 25 years and yet had not seen even a fraction of California’s natural wonders. And since those wonders include the people as well as the places, we spontaneously decided it was time to experience small town living in California – at least for a day.

The town we chose was Bishop. Located in Inyo County, elevation 4147 feet, population 3000, the town was named after Samuel Addison Bishop, a settler in the region. Bishop is well known in the rock climbing community and attracts visitors from around the world. It’s also a hub for hiking, fly fishing, bike riding and camping.

Needless to say, we didn’t do any of that -- not this time at least -- but I did partake in my own “outdoor painting adventure” after deciding I would paint landscapes while my husband got lost in a local book store. The subject of my painting was a small creek that runs through a park near the center of town.

It was there that I met local resident Derik Shilling-Hill, a 16 year old high school student who told me how much he enjoys his art classes.

Here's the finished painting...

Another local we met was Robin Hansen. He told us how he was born and bred in Bishop but moved to San Francisco where he worked on mainframes in the early days of computers. Upon retirement Robin and his wife returned to their roots where they now live and enjoy life with other family members and friends. Not surprisingly, Robin loves Bishop, CA. His friends, including Dick, love ribs!

We found an array of interesting stores and eateries in Bishop, and art clearly features high in this community, including kids art projects. With community values that include health and fitness, children and art, nature and beauty, Bishop is truly a wholesome place to visit or live.

Wildlife abounds on the outskirts of town including llama who watched us suspiciously as they silently grazed and munched away.

We saw beautiful homes in Bishop, especially in the area of McLaren Road, so we felt obligated to launch an Art Inspiring Homes of Bishop Contest. Check out these contestants...

You may be wondering about the title of this blog entry. Well, with the road calling us, it was time to continue on and our previously planned course of action was to head for Yosemite National Park while taking in the Mammoth Lakes region quickly on the fly. However, a wonderful new friend I met during my Bishop painting session earlier in the day changed those plans. It all started with an invitation for my husband and me to stop in “briefly” for a drink in Mammoth Lakes before traveling on to Yosemite. Little did we know that our connection with Yosemite, a mere 60 minutes away, would not occur for well over 24 hours.

But that’s a story for my next blog entry.

Meanwhile, our USA tour adventure continues, capturing the places, faces and homes of America on camera and on canvas.

Don’t miss the next installment,

Leisa
www.leisacollins.com
leisa@leisacollins.com

Art in Action - Spreading Art with a Message in Nevada

Traveling back from the Grand Canyon through Nevada to California was a memorable experience. Being that Nevada is primarily one endless expanse of desert, makes the people and places along the way really stand out. They are folks who have stood the test of time, battled with the elements and generally approach life with good humor and a laid back attitude that is quite infectious. In fact, I compare the people of Nevada – and I am deliberately leaving out Las Vegas here – to the desert flowers one sees occasionally, and marvels at, when passing through the state.

Despite suffering from a severe bout of road weariness after our all night drive and my midday painting session under the blazing sun on the western rim of the Grand Canyon, Bruce and I opted to leave Las Vegas well along, and began looking for a quieter and more relaxing spot to pitch our tent. We found such a place about 40 miles out of “Sin City” in the tiny community of Indian Springs. We stayed at the “Indian Springs Motor Hotel” which is attached to a small casino, restaurant, gas station and convenience store. It was a comfortable, affordable and hospitable experience. Add a military base and a few more stores on the same stretch of road, and a community population of about 1300, and that appeared to be the extent of Indian Springs. I soon learned, however, much to my surprise, that Indian Springs has a history as an artist colony. I was delighted and kept up the tradition that evening when I spent some time applying paint to canvas.

The next morning we got to know a number of the Indian Springs locals, including Mary, the friendly multi-tasking manager of the casino/restaurant/motel. Mary lives and works in Indian Springs and wouldn’t change it for the world. We also met Cameron, a young and very talented local man who hand paints custom designs on cars and motorcycles.

Here you can meet Mary...

And Cameron...

And us...

 

Then it was back on the road again, heading for California. Here are some of the delightful places we passed along the way!

See you at the next stop!

Leisa
www.leisacollins.com
leisa@leisacollins.com

Art in Action - How to Paint a Landscape at the Grand Canyon

On the 2nd of September, as we continued our USA Tour, we departed beautiful Lake Arrowhead and headed for the west end of the Grand Canyon. Maybe it was the alpine twilight but as we left Lake Arrowhead we were hit with the sudden inspiration to drive through the night and watch the sun rise in Arizona as we approached the Grand Canyon.

And that’s exactly what we did. Seeing streaks of white light illuminating vast desert plains and alien shaped mountains was a captivating experience. In the foreground stood stalwart Joshua Trees, their branches looking like hands groping toward the light as they stood silhouetted against the dawn.

Turning off the main highway, Bruce and I travelled another 30 miles on a winding gravel road (mid construction) until it abruptly ended. We were surprised with what we saw. High wire fences topped with barbed wire surrounded a gathering of simple wooden structures. The scene looked somewhat like a military encampment. No trespassing signs were liberally posted and inside the buildings were a meager array of commercially produced souvenir items. We were told we could either take a tourist tour bus or fly in a helicopter - at great expense - otherwise we could go no further.

My desire was to paint a landscape of the Grand Canyon - not just the vista laid out for tourists and sightseers but rather an artful acrylic portrait of the stark grandeur of desolate mountain forms painted live from a point in the middle of that remote wilderness. On the deserted gravel road back we stopped the car, I got out my paints and easel and canvas and Bruce and I trudged into the desert until we found the perfect spot. Bruce was the photographer and the video cameraman, practicing with our newly purchased camcorder. It was a unique experience, painting in utter silence, interrupted only by the cry of a hawk or the call of a desert bird and the slight rhythmic sigh of a hot desert breeze. What a beautiful and inspiring way to paint landscapes!

After our breathtaking experience in the grandeur of the desert we headed back west, out of Arizona and back into Nevada. Over 100 miles of virtual emptiness. With only a few clumps of life along the way, this strawberry pink church in the middle of the desert really said it all.

So we drove off into the sunrise...

Happy Trails!

Leisa
www.leisacollins.com
leisa@leisacollins.com

USA Painting Tour on the Road Promoting Art for Change

The following is a recent news release on my USA Tour to promote social change through art and kids art projects.  - Enjoy, Leisa

USA Tour raises funds and awareness for children and art education

In a journey marking the re-emergence of USA-based visual artist Leisa Collins into the art world after two decades of global travels and social activism, Lake Arrowhead was the first stop of the Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist tour. After launching her artistic career in New Zealand 1976, she abandoned formal art training and opted to learn her craft by capturing the beauty of the New Zealand wilderness on her canvas. Today, her focus is on promoting art for change.

Culminating in New York near the end of September, the USA tour promises to be an action-packed adventure and a captivating view of the American canvas from the eyes of an artist.

Hosted by a couple with roots that go back three generations in Arrowhead, Leisa and her husband and co-adventurer, Bruce, were given a scenic tour of the lake by boat. “Having the opportunity to see Arrowhead from the water at sunset was an inspiring experience,” said Leisa. “I am now using this materials for paintings of this lovely spot.”

The afternoon cruise provided an opportunity for Leisa to select the best of an array of lakeside homes for her house portrait contest. “As we travel from city to city throughout the tour, I will be selecting contenders for my Art-Inspiring Homes Contest. There are so many incredible homes in Arrowhead however, it is difficult to narrow it down to just one contender for each of the contest categories, “Most Elegant’, ‘Most Eclectic’ and ‘Most Unique’’. The three national winners will receive a free original portrait of their homes at the end of the tour. House portrait contenders will meanwhile be placed on Leisa’s website at www.leisacollins.com.

In addition to recording the scenic beauty and people of of America through photos and paintings created by Leisa on the road and promoted through her Art with a Message Blog, Leisa will organize kids art projects along the tour to promote and raise funds for children and art education. In this regard, Leisa has partnered with Free Arts for Abused Children so as to get this message across.

Following Arrowhead, the tour heads for the Grand Canyon, then back west via Las Vegas and Death Valley to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Regions of Sequoia and Yosemite. Next is San Francisco, the famous Redwood Forest and up the coast to Oregon and Washington. Yellowstone National Park and the Badlands in South Dekota follow, then Sioux Falls City, Minneapolis/St Paul in Minnesota, Green Bay and Milwaukee in Wisconsin. Crossing to Illinois they will visit Chicago and move onto Lansing and Detroit in Michigan. Next stop is the Niagara Falls, and the Pennsylvania cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and the final destination, New York City.

A native of New Zealand, but international in scope, Leisa is now combining her activist and artistic skills under the motto of art with a message. Working mainly in acrylic and watercolors, Leisa is diverse, painting landscapes one day and house portraits and face portraits the next. She also works with other women artists and specializes in art for change projects; in both the realistic and semi-abstract genres. You will find the USA tour route under the Art in Action page of her website and her Art with a Message Blog follows the action of the tour. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, Art in the Making from her website.

Across the USA Tour Day One - Leaving the Fiery Ravages of Los Angeles

As we headed out of Los Angeles for the Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist tour, I felt somewhat nostalgic, leaving the city that has been home base for the last 25 years. However, after a week of raging fires, billowing spirals of smoke and raining ash, I was glad to get away from the chaos. We originally planned to go straight to the Grand Canyon but Bruce (my husband and co-adventurer) and I decided to detour to Lake Arrowhead to meet with our new friends Julie and Daniel Rodriguez. Being that I have always wanted to do  paintings of the area, their offer to show us Lake Arrowhead from their boat was irresistible. 

  

We were welcomed into their lovely home and offered fine wine and cheeses. At the same time I gave a mini showing of my original art. Then Bruce and I jumped into Daniel’s cool Hummer which is decked out nicely with graphics that turn it into a mobile Mona Vie advertisement.  Daniel and Julie are successful Mona Vie reps and the graphics advertise the new Mona Vie energy drink, Emv. We were taken to their equally cool power boat, which is also done up graphics in the same Mona Vie logos and colors. Check out this pic of Daniel and Julie…

http:/www.theactiondrink.com/drod

As the sun began to set we had a glorious tour of the lake’s pristine waters and alpine setting with Julie and Daniel pointing out local landmarks. I took loads of photos, collecting bountiful material for paintings. Here's a few of the photos...

 

  

  

 

Additionally, an array of graceful lakeside homes, best viewed from the boat, provided ample contenders for my Art-Inspiring Homes Contest USA, which I will carry out throughout our journey. I will be selecting the best homes in the categories of “Most Elegant”, “Most Eclectic” and “Most Unique”, with the three winners receiving a free original portrait of their homes by the end of the tour.

  

Next stop… Grand Canyon!

Leisa 

www.leisacollins.com 

leisa@leisacollins.com

Tour Partnership Formed with Non-Profit Group to Support Children and Art

 
On the eve of my Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist tour, I formed a partnership with Free Arts for Abused Children, an effective non-profit group dedicated to providing an opportunity for every child in the USA to learn and create art.

The alliance was inaugurated at the group's LA headquarters when I presented an original painting entitled "The Loneliness of Abuse" to the Executive Director of Free Arts for Abused Children, Karrah Lompa.  I created the painting to communicate the emotional isolation and despair suffered by an abused child, thereby stressing the important role that the arts can play in healing a child.


Leisa presenting her original painting, "The Loneliness of Abuse", to Karrah Lompa

Having now set out from Los Angeles with my husband, Bruce Goodman, I promise you an action-packed adventure and a captivating view of the American canvas through the eyes of an artist. The journey will culminate in New York City near the end of September. Currently, we are approaching the Grand Canyon...
 
Support Children and Art

Free Arts for Abused Children is a non-profit group steadfastly dedicated to using art to help children recover from abuse and violence. You can help! Give your support by purchasing an authenticated print of The Loneliness of Abuse and 50% of the proceeds will go directly to Free Arts and their kids art projects.

In fact, I will expand upon this with this offer: From now through the last day of September I will donate to Free Arts 50% of the proceeds from the purchase of ANY original paintings or prints through my website.

E-mail today me for details or questions at leisa@leisacollins.com.


The Loneliness of Abuse

Can the Arts Save the World?

"I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.”

So stated John F. Kennedy, a strong supporter of the arts, on behalf of the National Cultural Center, which would come to bear his name in November, 1962.

Art can thrust out a communication, a message, it can tell stories - both astounding and true - that put a human face on incidents. Art can transform shock into emotion and inspire action. It can sooth a troubled spirit, awaken desires and bring disparate peoples together.

Art can also raise awareness of important social issues. Take Michael Jackson. With his passing he left a philanthropic legacy almost as large as his cultural one. As a master of showmanship his song, “We Are the World”, which he co-wrote with Lionel Richie in 1985, helped combat famine in Africa and set a trend of social consciousness that was followed by other artist celebrities.

Historic examples of artistic revival abound, the most dynamic being the Renaissance, which transformed the existing civilization and its values. These literary and cultural movements in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries began in Italy and eventually expanded into Germany, France, England and other parts of Europe. Their thinking was influenced by the concept of humanism, which emphasizes the worth of the individual. Renaissance humanists believed it was possible to improve human society through classical education.

In the last century music and the performing arts played a major role in the civil rights movement and in many cases Black artists broke the barriers of racial discrimination and segregation, setting the stage for cultural and social change not only in the USA, but around the world.

The last five years have seen an unprecedented blossoming of eco-awareness and activism through the arts. From giant multiplexes to 50-seat fringe venues, from theatres to intimate galleries, artists are talking, performing, writing and painting about the planet's relentless drift toward disaster.

Artists' actions to bring change tend to fall into two categories: works that remind us how nice things are and the shock approach which paints an alarming picture of humanity's future. One positive thing to come from increasing artist activism is improved dialogue between artists, politicians, scientists and civil servants. The dream of the artist is to inspire a work so powerful that it provides an impetus to action - without something horrible having to happen first. One recent example is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, which helped change public understanding of global warming.

So can the arts save the world? The answer is yes, if artists work hand in hand with politicans and responsible leaders. After all, it’s the arts that remind us that it’s possible to save the world and give us the hope and courage we need to keep striving forward.
About The Author...
Leisa Collins, has recently re-emerged into the art world 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. Her motto is Art with a Message and her website is www.leisacollins.com.

Support the Women of Afghanistan

My latest painting, entitled... Enough!

I have been following closely the issue of women's rights in Afghanistan. I was outraged to learn yesterday that a repressive law has now been put into effect which gives Shiite men in Afghanistan the legal right to starve their wives if their sexual demands are not met and women must obtain permission from their husbands to even leave their houses “except in extreme circumstances”. The new law was signed by President Hamid Karzai.

While the situation has improved somewhat for Afghan women since the fall of the Taliban, Afghan women and girls need our help to secure their freedom and equality!

Here are some facts about the plight of women in Afghanistan:

• Women and girls are routinely sold or bartered to meet clan obligations, a practice that is technically illegal but widely tolerated.
• One in eight women die from pregnancy related causes, compared to one in 4,800 in the U.S.
• Most woman remain “invisible” and do not participate in public life.
• Although one million girls returned to school in 2002, some are still being attacked by militants who believe they should not be educated.
• 87 percent of Afghan women are illiterate
• Only 30 percent of girls have access to education in Afghanistan
• One in every three Afghan women experience physical, psychological or sexual violence
• 44 years is the average life expectancy rate for women in Afghanistan
• 70 to 80 percent of women face forced marriages in Afghanistan, some as young as eight.
• Rape and domestic violence are endemic.

Support the Afghan Women Empowerment Act of 2009 (S. 229) which was introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and provides critical resources for Afghan women:

• Literacy education
• Technical and vocational training
• Health care services that would reduce maternal and infant mortality
• Programs to protect women and girls from sexual and physical abuse
• Programs against abduction, trafficking and exploitation
• Emergency shelters for women and girls who face danger from violence

Send an email or letter in support of this act and do your part to empower the women of Afghanistan! Take Action Now!

Art Inspiring Homes Contest Launch

As the old saying goes – “Your Home is your Castle”.

Imbued by fond memories of childhood and family, houses tend to take on personalities of their own. That’s why I decided to add original house portraits to my repertoire of commissioned original art work. I posted sample house portraits in a photo album on my Leisa Collins Art page on Facebook and on the Commissions page of my website.

Finding that special home that inspires artistic creation is something to be treasured as an artist. As such I truly appreciate the care and creation that so many home owners take to make their homes and gardens aesthetic, charming and artistically stimulating!

Therefore, I am hereby launching the Art Inspiring Homes Contest!

As we travel on our Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist tour I will be carefully selecting the most art inspiring homes along our journey. The contest categories are:

1. Most Elegent

2. Most Eclectic

3. Most Unique

However, if you or a friend have a house anywhere in the USA that you feel should be given due consideration, you can submit your art inspiring home for inclusion in the contest by simply sending at least three photos to leisa@leisacollins.com.

The winner in each category will receive a FREE house portrait original painting of their home!

The style I use for these house portraits is black pen with a watercolor wash. Below I illustrate how I create a house portrait using a scene from Venice, Italy, one of my favorite cities:

1) Photograph

2) Pen Drawing

3) Pen and Watercolor Wash

LET THE CONTEST BEGIN!

Love,

Leisa

Where will we pitch our tent you ask?

Since the launch of my site I have been deluged with emails and positive response to my art. As an artist, this is very encouraging, so thank you very much for your feedback! There are two questions that stand out in the many emails I have received and I will address those questions here:

a) Where is your studio currently based?

Currently, my temporary studio is a cramped apartment in Los Angeles which my husband Bruce and I share with a mountain of boxes, suitcases, travel gear and art materials. By the end of the month we will head out on our cross-country tour - Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist. We will be traveling from LA to NYC and the studio will be “on the road...”

Thankfully, we are so busy with the website launch that it takes our minds off the nightmarish fact that we can only cram about 10% of our “stuff” into our VW Passat Wagon. Yikes! Maybe it’s time for a yard sale.

b) Where will you be permanently located?

Although we haven’t made a final decision yet, we are leaning toward a permanent location on the east coast. Bruce and I have always wanted to do a scenic, cross-country drive and we decided to take advantage of our upcoming tour to first SEE and EXPERIENCE some of the many beautiful communities in America before deciding on our permanent location.

The real purpose of the tour, however, is to promote and raise money for youth art education. The future of any community, country or continent on this planet depends utterly on its artists and the quantity and quality of the artists and art in the society begins with the education or our children.

As with any reconnaissance tour, though, we won’t be pitching our tent immediately. Following our cross-country adventure, we will spend time with Bruce’s family in Michigan and at the end of October head to New Zealand for a 3-4 month working holiday.

Bruce and I will be re-tracing my original journey through the intoxicatingly beautiful countryside where I first learned to paint many years ago. We will also be seeing family and visiting old friends, and I will paint and do art exhibitions at the same time.

So that’s our immediate agenda. And one of these days, in the not too distant future, we will be holding a real AND virtual grand opening for my new studio and gallery – I will make sure you are all invited!

My motto is Art with a Message. My game is social change through art. Your feedback on this is valuable to me. Contact me by e-mail at leisa@leisacollins.com.

Love,

Leisa

My entrance into the blogasphere

 
As I stand here re-inventing myself as an artist I decided to enter the blogasphere in the same way I first entered the world of art over two decades ago. It tends to be the way I do most things in life... take a deep breath and jump in!
   

Come to think of it, it’s the way I tackled scuba diving years ago. I put on the wetsuit, air-tank and weights and jumped over the side of the boat. True, I nearly drowned because the ill-fitting face mask filled up with water and the weight-belt dropped me like a 10 ton anchor, but guess what, I sure learned to scuba dive in a hurry! 

  

Today is a triple-release day on which I am debuting three things at once: my new website - www.leisacollins.com, my new weekly newsletter - Art in the Making, and my new blog (my personal diary) - Leisa Collins, Art with a Message Blog. 

 

It didn’t start out as a triple-release. I simply intended to put a handful of paintings together, throw them up on a website and see if anyone liked them. However, I decided that my on-line gallery needed some substance for viewers to see what I do. The simple one-liner on my home page - "Commission me to do a special original painting for you” - became its own Commissions page with details and examples of what I do and how I go about doing it. My Art in Action page demonstrates the extension of my art beyond a studio and gallery walls.

  

As my site neared completion, it struck me that I really wanted to interact with other artists and people who love original art and believe it can bring change, hence I constructed this blog. 

  

Likewise, I created my Art in the Making newsletter for those who don’t think they could stand hearing from me more than once a week. My first newsletter explains how it all began.

  

So what is the point of all this? As stated in my website, “Art can thrust out a communication, a message. It can tell stories that put a human face on incidents. Art can raise awareness of important social issues and inspire action. It can sooth a troubled spirit, awaken ones desires and bring disparate peoples together.” These words are not just idealistic fantasizing, I wrote them from personal observation.

  

In short, this is my “jumping in” point. There is lot’s more to say and plenty of upcoming adventures, like my Across the USA, from the Eyes of an Artist live tour which is covered in the Art in Action page on my site. Then in late October I’ll be back in my homeland of New Zealand, re-tracing my journey through mountain and lake wildernesses, where I first taught myself to paint.

Well, time to end off for today. Check out my website, take a leisurely browse through my gallery, support a living artist and buy an original. Or contact me about creating a special commissioned art piece for you. But most importantly, look at my Art in Action page and let's work together to make a change in the world. 

  

I’d love to hear from you. Contact me by e-mail at leisa@leisacollins.com.