Anne Leuck Feldhaus Adventures & Art

Dogs Rule Art

This was the secret project I blogged about the other day...I was asked by Jill  Beninato of www.sitstaysmile.com to be part of a 'fat book' called 'Dogs Rule'. "Fat books" are small books of a certain size that contain pages created by a pre-determined group of artists. They are called fat books because the pages are often embellished with ephemera that make the final book fat when it is bound. Embellishment is optional... Since I was really stretched for time I couldn't take the risk of trying something new...instead I stuck with what I do best. That's Alice with my 14 pages...all original paintings on matte board, a lot of work but it was fun! There are 13 other amazing artists who will contribute, we each get a book filled with pages from one another and the 14th one will be auctioned off on ebay with the proceeds going to artist Bernie Berlin's charity A Place To Bark please visit her links to find out about the amazing work she is doing to save homeless pets, rehab them and find them homes (she is a remarkable human being and artist). Stay tuned for more info on the auction & finished books!

No Passing: Red, White and Blue

I created this painting titled "No Passing" at the Fields Project last month, I wrestled with the border color...too much Red, White and Blue. By my own rule and aesthetic I've always stayed away from using primary colors together like this: Rule Broken...it seems appropriate to show this painting on the 4th of July...

 

Back from the farm...

And just like that it's over....was it a dream? A beautiful week of blue skies, big puffy white clouds, endless gorgeous hilly back country roads, cows, pigs, goats and corn. I wish I could hold on to this feeling of completeness and happiness. No tv, no computer, a lot of times no phone (my outdoor studio at Castle Rock State Park had no cell phone reception). But it wasn't all sunny skies for me. I had some very real creative challenges and no where to run away from them...I seriously considered driving back to Chicago one morning. But I stayed and battled it out with myself and am very happy with the few pieces that I finished...I think what I accomplished out there mentally in a week would have taken me 3 months here in my studio with all its distractions.

The other magic that happens as an artist at a program like this is you are PRESENT the WHOLE time, I mean visually and creatively, MENTALLY PRESENT. Everywhere I went and every road I traveled I was scanning the amazing lush green vistas all around me...appreciating every field, cow, pig and hay bale..stopping, sketching, taking photos.

The community and group of folks that make up this organization (The Fields Project) are so amazing, they are like a second family after my 3 different years of participation in the program. I also met a group of wonderful artists from around the country and a few right here in Chicago (I had this silly idea that I knew all the aritsts in Chicago!)

The field sculptures this year were so vivid and beautiful thanks to a new grass field and all the rain of the past few weeks. Another huge highlight was Cathi Bouzide & Danny Mansmith's collaboration on the wrapped corn bin. PHENOMENAL!

I'll post more photos and notes soon but in the mean time I did upload my photos to my FLICKR page so please check them out.

Urban House Bird Painting...Live

Music by Kelly Joe Phelps: "The Black Crowe Keeps Flying".

Warrick's Sweet Dreams

Just finished this commissioned pet portrait of Warrick for my  wonderful  clients Julie & Brittany. He is dreaming of things he loves: taking walks and his beloved owners. If you are interested in ordering, visit AnnesArt.com or my Pet Portrait Blog.....Have a great day!

Learned Something New...!

I signed up at the last minute and took a Silk Screen Class at the Needle Shop in Bucktown on Sunday. I scrambled to find some images and something to print on. The class was only 4 hours so I really only had time to make my screens and about 3 prints. I did purchased some ink and a squeegee so I can practice at home. The most difficult thing to me about this process (so far) is working in the dark to get the image on the screen (can you tell I've never taken a photography class?)...the small amount of light you do get is red. Our teacher, Tiffany Paige said that Chicago Silk Screen is a great resource for all supplies and they even burn screens from your files if need be.

These are the screens I made and the one below the shirt I printed on. I'd like to try incorporating silk screen into my painting process so I can apply to shows in the mixed media category...a lot fewer people apply in mixed media than painting. Tomorrow I'll tell you about the first of many upcoming trips I'll be taking over the next few months.

Bullseye II

Bullseye II...30"x30". This recently completed painting chronicles the pain of my typical migraine headache. My pain is generally targeted behind one eye. I developed the sketch for this one back in 2003 for an annual migraine art contest the National Headache Foundation used to sponsor and finally got around to painting it full size. The NHF gave me a merit award for Bulls Eye I, and you can see a few more of my migraine paintings here.

And this one: "Below the Blade" is also migraine related. That little circular saw blade over her neck signify's wanting to chop my head off...a lot of pain and stiffness radiates through my neck & shoulders during these headaches too. I feel very fortunate that over the years I have found medication and a combination of things that make them much more manageable for me. The sketch for this one was not as happy go lucky as this painting appears!

65 South

I think it's finished...we'll see how I feel in the morning.

Brutus...a lovely tribute to a handsome guy

I've got lots of great process images for the creation of this fun commissioned pet portrait...and this photo of Brutus at home in Alabama with his brand new tribute painting is the cherry on top. I hope to put together a page on my website showing all the steps and maybe even do a little postcard or brochure. Right now my pet portrait information pages look like this. Jean, his wonderful owner left me a really great review at PetServicesReview.com, thanks Jean I do hope to see you in October at Kentuck!

Here's a full photo of the completed painting:

More Clay...meet Art

Last night ...was clay class at Lill Street. This is Eva May with her newest creation: ART...she made the head and torso from porcelain and then being the exquisite hat maker that she is...she made him a hat and added several other cool art related embellishments...oh..and she also made his wire rim glasses.

The photo of the terra cotta piece is one that I am working on...not sure exactly what it's all about yet. Yes there is a beak on the standing figure...I broke part of it off later in the evening so now it looks like a beaky nose. (Hmmm, wonder if this is the chicken responsible for the egg truck?) We sure have a great time on Monday nights, good interesting people and conversation with very diverse things being created all around us. I'll try to add photos of what some of the other people in class are doing next week.

My Egg Truck

So I made this cute little truck out of terra cotta at Lill Street, building it was the fun part. Then comes the not so fun part: Glazing it...always a frustration for me - working with glaze is nothing like paint. To get the color saturated you have to put many coats of white to cover the orange clay and then many coats of the actual color that you want...and you are still not guaranteed full coverage. Last year I coined the phrase..."let go and let glaze" I'm still trying to embrace it.

So why an egg truck you ask? Well as I layered on all the white glaze I was having conversations with the other people working at my table and they asked what my truck was carrying...I had no idea and was not sure what direction I would take outside of having that great purple cab. The next thing I glazed were the tires, and I thought they looked like sunny side up fried eggs...so voila...an egg truck. Check out each side and the bottom...I titled it "eggzactly".

Brutus....inspired new portrait design!

I've been working with a wonderful new customer on this handsome sweetie's sketch all week...he lives in Alabama and his name is Brutus. He is a rescue and has brought much joy to his new home and canine playmates. His owner told me that he loves pig ears and I thought hmmm..those aren't going to look so great in a painting, so I thought of the cute little pig with words and pulled this design idea through for his other favorite things. I love it, this is part of the fun of doing commissions it makes me think 'outside the box', well I guess I tend to think 'in the box' with my style...but you know what I mean!

I hope to meet Brutus in person next year if I get back into the wonderful Kentuck Art Fair again.

Blues..

Digital Sketch

New Year: New Adventure!

Inspiration finally hit, I designed my New Years Cards today. I was in a funk, so I questioned and drew my way out of it. I almost abandoned the whole thing altogether, now it's time to write notes to all those great people who helped me out in 2007.. including you: Thanks for taking the time to read my blog..it's hard for me to do and I still feel shy and a bit strange about sharing in this format, but maybe I'll get brave and surprise you with some thrilling entries in 2008! 

Buster! and the Wonders of Reflexology...

I recently completed this Commissioned Portrait of Buster - this sweet furry little guy belongs to Nourhy of Now Studio in Bucktown. Nourhy is a very talented and intuituve Reflexologist and Massage Therapist. I feel very fortunate to have received her wonderful reflexology treatments in trade for this portrait. In addition to making me feel better I have learned a lot from her, and highly recommend her services! (Ironically I lived just blocks from her studio for many years...but did not find my way there until moving out of the neighborhood.) And I should mention the photo of Buster was taken by David Sutton.

Recent Commissions...

This was the final sketch for a commission painting I've been working on which will be 24x24. These clients are wonderful customers both the (adult) kids and their parents collect my work. They gave this to their parents for their 60th Birthdays both being celebrated this year. I love doing these, it's a lot of fun helping people come up with symbolism for shared interests and history. My favorite is the "lefties" square..

I  should mention that I swore off painting children a few years back but made an exception for their adorable grand kids + they really get my work and I knew they would not have unrealistic (or should I say realistic) expectations.

Live from my sketchbook...

I'm trying to better utilize the hundreds of images in my sketchbooks,
this was a randomly selected page. I think the cat in the sketch
looks more interesting, kind of human...but I'm happy with the
painting too. Think I can challenge myself to do one of these a
week? It's always fun to go back and visit all those pages and
see what was going through my head at the time...

Adopt A Pet In The Park...

I donated the design of this Ad for Chicago Animal Care & Control's upcoming pet adoption event in Lincoln Park on October 14th. The full design has a lot more text etc. I made this one for postcards and another for possible t-shirt printing. Watch for it in an upcoming issue of the Chicago Reader. I hope it brings lots of people out for the event so more of Chicago's homeless pets find good homes.

Working Weekend...

It's that time of year when all I want to do is revel in the fall weather but it's a busy time for me art wise with lots of events coming up and work to do... but I did squeeze in some fun, a great night on Friday first going to the Pilsen East Art Walk to see my dear friend Erica's exciting opening at Margin Gallery: there were tons of people out and art studios and galleries open all along Halsted Street and into the neighborhood, lots of good energy and interesting art and fabulous art studios to see. Later met up with Rich & friends at their great new practice space just blocks from our house off elston. I was hoping to get back to Pilsen on Saturday to see more art...but it didn't happen.

I did manage to finish up several paintings and prepare all my tags and pricelist and bio for my hanging at the Starbucks in Roscoe Village tonight....it's always that deadline that makes it all happen. I could have hung a bit more than the 20+ paintings but need enough work to take to the Kentuck art fair in Alabama later in October. I've included a few of the new finished pieces and the upgrade I made to my "Corn" painting from the Fields Project, I decided to mount the canvas on MDF, it really adds a certain something. It is a bit abstract...but I like it.

Chi-Town Kitty

Here she is...my donated pieces for the Treehouse Animal Foundation's Annual Cats on Parade: Day / Night / Half & Half:
 

Chicago on the Feline

Ever the procrastinator...I started painting the fiberglass cat for the Treehouse Animal Foundation Cats On Parade event today. Did some serious sketching last night and decided to paint the city on the cat...as I was working I decided to go for a half day half night effect. I'm pretty happy with it...post varnish pictures tomorrow before delivery.
 

3 Commissions Completed!

Adorable Nel in her birthday hat...shipping to California today...Sweet Lucy - shipping to Arizona..and dearly departed Stretch the Cat a trade with my pal and extraordinary Chicago Jewelry Jodi Rae Brownstein.

The Art of Shoes and more...

Is it art? Rich did his bi-annual Chuck Taylor wash over the weekend...I watched him arrange these on the railing to dry, looks like art to me. After this, I met him in the garage where we were long overdue to clean, organize and go through the boxes still sitting there from our move 9 months ago. A good portion of them were all the ceramic figures I made at Lill Street back in the 90's and a few bronze pieces I made in college. Most of the clay figures are missing fingers and have various other cracks and imperfections but I'm not quite ready to part with them. Rich wants me to plant them in the garden or around the yard, for now I was able to put the majority of them on a bookshelf in the garage...Oh, I did put two in the yard..I'll post those at a later date. Izzy & Alice snoozed in the summer breeze on the deck all afternoon.

Just shipped these Weimaraners...

I just finished and shipped this commissioned portrait of Trinity & Strider to a wonderful new customer in Park City, Utah ...thanks Jill, and Happy Birthday!

These two beautiful Weimaraners were fun to paint and I love the composition and color scheme.

We just packed up the truck for this weekend's Magnificent Mile Art Fair held in the courtyard area between the Chicago Tribune and the Equitable Building on Michigan Avenue. I love it because it's like doing an out of town show without having to travel, most of my sales are too people visiting Chicago from all over the U.S. and the world. Last year I shipped a painting to Greece. The other cool thing is I used to work up on the 23rd floor of the Equitable Building at Smith Bucklin & Associates as a convention & meeting planner. I was there for six years (in the early 90's) plotting my dreams to be a full time artist. It was good training for running my own business - I worked on a number of interesting accounts from "The Society of Thoracic Surgeons" (heart surgeons)  to "The American Ladder Institute" (yes, ladder manufacturers).

What I did on my summer vacation...

I feel a little like school has started again as I try to organize all I have to do since returning from one of the most memorable summer vacations of my life! 'Beehive Barn' - my favorite creation from the Fields Project (see more here), with the exception of my field sculpture. This barn was inspired by a photo I took on Daysville Road between Franklin Grove and Amboy (my daily route to and from the farm I stayed at). I'm going to put together a flickr photo journal of my fields project experience much like this excellent one created by my wonderful and witty friend Laura Nugent... I've got my July Newsletter to write, several pet portrait commissions to finish, the 3 day Magnificent Mile Art Fair this weekend, new paintings to add to my website, Illinois sales taxes to file and some serious design work for a pending licensing deal. I would really love some help but delegation does not come naturally to me...it would really take the right person. How do you find that person? How do you trust that person? I have been dancing around this topic for the last 5 years or so...and with my now divided work space I don't see it happening any time soon; unless, of course, the right person presents his or herself to me. I am officially putting out a request to the universe...

The second half of my vacation was a good old fashioned road trip via I-80 to the YMCA of the Rockies in Colorado for Rich's family reunion. We saw all the expected road side attractions, complete with gargantuan gorilla daring people to buy some fireworks.

In addition to the astounding beauty, it was so great to see all of our nieces & nephews and other family as well as participate in a nocturnal hike, archery and a good old fashioned campfire sing along. Thanks to Ruth & Ray for this unique and memorable event!

After all is said and done, it is always wonderful to come home to our beloved pups - we our really lucky to have a great pet sitter from Urban Tailz, thanks Ben!