Anne Leuck Feldhaus Adventures & Art

...missing my girl.

Missing my sweet girl, Izzy...the dog that launched a thousand paintings, and even a few sculptures. I said goodbye to her a year ago today.

Eastern Iowa Life....

....I was excited to get some press after the Marion Art Fair last weekend inEastern Iowa Life. It felt great to get my tent out and do my first outdoor show of the season, the weather ended up cooperating and we had a good turn out crowd wise. Also enjoyed getting out on the road, so easy to get caught up in urban life, the open road stretching out before me is always a welcome sight.

new collectors!

...."A Woman and Her Dog"...

I did some power painting prior to the show including lots of new mini art blocks:
do you like my new 'skelly's" ...inpsired by my most recent pet portrait commission of medi & tula! Just $32 each!

Iowa has the most beautiful rest stops of any state I've seen, they all seem to incorporate original art work into their design and on the grounds...this one 30+ miles west of Davenport.

Making my debut in Iowa this weekend!

 
Looking forward to my first outdoor show of the season and my first show,ever, in Iowa this weekend at the prestigious Marion Arts Festival. If you live in the area, I hope you'll come by to say hello and to see all my new work...I had a prolific week, and for that I am relieved, thought I'd lost my mojo! This piece above is painted on a cabinet door: "Still Life with Black Dog".

What: Marion Arts Festival
Where: City Square Park
When: Saturday May 21st
Hours: 9am-5pm

...some things I've been working on in clay...

carved this one on my birthday.

april was tough this year.

 
carved this back in january...did i mention our house is for sale?

"Day of the Dead" inspired narrative pet portrait...my favorite!

...just helped my fabulous new client, Claire, pull off a wonderful surprise for her partner, inconspicuously hung a narrative portrait of their dogs in my storefront window:
 
...her priceless response when she noticed it:

...i'm still smiling, this was such a fun project and the joy and surprise with which it was received, heart warming. ...and I love, love, loved creating the Mexican 'day of the dead' inspired details. It's my new favorite pet portrait! Do you like the subtle little angel/el angelito & devil/la diablita details? and the leaves and vine motif...with scalloped edges...this is going to carry through into some new paintings!

painting the birdbath...part 3: re-line & deliver!

A week ago last Thursday night I finished painting the bird bath for the HCS Family Services 'In Bloom" public art project at Oak Brook Center.

..it was an evening of re-lining to bring the images back into sharp focus!

It got to be a late night...

...the bottom/underside took way longer than I expected, finally finished at 3am!

Made last minute touch ups in the morning then signed it with my top secret tool...

...time to deliver it to Westmont to Remes Auto Body for the protective clear coat, Rich generously took the time to help me transport this thing once again.
...was very glad to have these gentlemen unload and carry it off the truck.

Can you tell it's late afternoon on a Friday? These guys were very jovial! I just received an email all the pieces were installed today at Oak Brook Center and the big award ceremony, ribbon cutting and sculpture walk is next Thursday, May 19th...kind of exciting!

Pendants & Portraits for PAWS Chicago Pups!

Join us for shopping and drinks and fun Wedneday night at the studio of Deana Rose at Pendants & Portraits for PAWS Chicago Pups!

PAWS Chicago is committed to guaranteeing life to all animals, regardless of their medical needs. Your support will help PAWS Chicago save more sick & injured animals. 15% of all Sales will go to PAWS!

When: Wednesday, May 11 from 6-9 p.m.
Where: Deana Rose Jewelry Studios – 3856 N. Oakley
Cost: $10 admission (cocktails and apps provided)

*Can't make it? Shop on-line at DeanaRose.com and 15% of your purchase will benefit PAWS.

♥ MoM ♥

That's my Mother, Colleen...one of my biggest fans. My love for her is so immense...I can't put into words the gratitude I have, just knowing that no matter what I'm going through, she is always there for me. She has the biggest heart and is one of the most compassionate and nonjudgemental people that I know. It's funny, we only see eachother 2-3 times a year, but we talk often enough that I never feel like it's been more than a week or two. In addition to always being there for her family, the number of lives she has touched and comfort she has provided as a hospice social worker and grief group leader, I'm sure, is immeasurable....I'm so proud and lucky to call her my Mom.

With Mom & my brother, Carl, circa 1967 and below, Mother's Day in 2009...

painting the birdbath...part 2: glorious color!

Here's the color portion of this story...spent a week deliberating if I should have 3 different color schemes/tiers and in the end stuck with it. In the past I would have done a coordinating border like the black and white bones I did in the 'Suite Chicago Dogs' set....but since this is one single piece and that was 4 separate pieces opted to try something different. It might look a little odd here, but wait until you see it with the black outlines painted in....stay tuned!

 

 
Actually going home to finish it tonight as I have to deliver to the autobody show in Westmont that is doing the clear coating...wish me luck!

painting the birdbath...part 1: chalk and black paint

The weekend before last, I finally started putting some art on the crazy fiberglass bird bath! I started by drawing on the composition with purple chalk - I had started with a title of "Canines'n Blooms" and a brief color rendering, but couldn't really figure it out until I was working full scale. Chalk is great, easy to erase.

I then went in with black paint and it suddenly started coming to life... 
This is great fun, I know I don't look thrilled here...but I was! ; )

I've captured most of it on video so stay tuned for the high speed painting synapses! Do you like my bike seat laptop video tripod?

And the underside...which few will see, was going to do bones, then all leaves, but settled for the swirl...I think it's a good solution: Almost forgot to show you my rendering...inspired by my 'dog park debacle' series of paintings:

Stay tuned for part 2: color!