Anne Leuck Feldhaus Adventures & Art

Carbon Black

Just discovered Golden Fluid Acrylics, I've always used Golden Heavy Body Paints but the black does not thin well so I use a different brand...picked this up the other day, I love it - fluid but opaque, perfect for my process...
 

Progress...

Had a nice break this afternoon with a visit from my nephews Noah & Luke.

New Compositions Emerge from Basement

I have a show at the Humane Society of Berks County in Reading, PA opening on August 14th...need to get some new work done and shipped in the next 2 weeks...started these compositions at home and will bring to the studio to finish. I assumed not having any art fairs in July would free me up but the universe has supplied me with plenty of work...I could use a few 28 hour days!

Last week...

The daily painting is starting to work for me...I have lots of new nearly completed paintings to share with you very soon. The sketch above was an after thought right before I turned out the lights...based on this painting that I did at the Fields Project last June. I like the verticality of it...will also tweak the color on this one. Here's a peek at some other new pieces:
      

Title anyone?

Well here is proof I have been painting every day. I'm not sure what this piece is about so a title has not come to me yet - I'd love to hear your ideas! (the image on the left is mid process, always tempting to leave it that way but I can't help it, the black paint insists on coming back in and defining the image.)
I'll post more new paintings tomorrow...

Cardboard...

i love to paint on it. no risk.

Painting...first brush strokes of the year.

One of my goals for 09 is to paint for some amount of time each week day. First day, goal achieved. I'm excited to see what images emerge. Clay class also started tonight so I painted and sculpted today...and did my daily sketchbook page. It's amazing how good that feels. I'll share more about the writing workshop later this week...I smile every time I think of it!

Sketchbook Study for Damen...

 

A recent peek at my sketch book.I incorporated studies of an adorable rescue named Damen for a Pet Portrait Order. (digitally enhanced in shades of gray)

See what's on my easel....

I've been thinking a lot about pink and red together lately...and it's been a long time since I've done any still life paintings, if I can call it that - this one was pulled from my imagination.

Finished! 10/01/08

A new studio assistant?!

I hate cleaning brushes and have many in very sad shape. This contraption could be the perfect solution and save me time...not to mention money - it's actually affordable: The Artist's BrushMate. Do you think it works?

I've been using: Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver for years...it does work and lasts a long time but takes a lot more effort and old rags. I also use their Artist's Hand Soap, great for removing paint from the painter!

What do you use to clean your brushes? The dilemma of the self taught painter...I've learned most of what I do and use by trial and error. But for me that has mostly proven to be a good thing.

 

Catching up with pet portraits...

I'm way behind on my pet portrait and illustration commissions...catching up this week: Preliminary sketches above for Pippin, an Irish Jack Russell pup and Izak, a very sweet shepherd who sadly passed away this past year. I generally start by making drawings from their photos in my sketchbook, then I pick the best one, scan it and digitally clean up the lines, add the name and colors before the first presentation to my client. From their feedback I make any neccessary edits and color changes before actually painting the portrait on canvas. Here is a good link to my process, links to completed Pet Face and Narrative Scene Portraits and more info on how you can Order a Portrait of Your Pet!

Art Re-Treat

Back from an amazing art retreat weekend in rural Wisconsin with Rachel and Erica ..and remotely our dear friend Lois Keller. 

Rachel started this amazing new series of paintings and created several lovely water colors...

Erica pulled this one out of her hat...this large piece consists of 10 separate panels:

Lois shipped us a box of treasures, included for each of us was a lovely drawing (this is the one she sent for me) with sentiments and her wishes for each of us and our creative lives for 2008.

And these are some of my pieces - I did paintings on cardboard:

These 3 women have impacted my life and art in so many ways, we have a very magical connection that has only strengthened over the last 7+ years. I'd love to share more as so many wonderful things transpired...but I'll just have to leave you with these snippets since I'm scrambling to get myself and things together before I leave Wednesday for my trip up to Minneapolis for the Uptown Art Fair. Not an easy thing since I've had a non-stop whirl wind of fun, adventure and travel over the last few weeks. I feel so lucky to be taking all these trips and for the chance to reconnect with so many wonderful friends and family.

From the archives...Still Life With Pears.

At a recent art fair I ran into some lovely customers that I have not seen in quite awhile. This is a commissioned painting that I created for them back in 2004: "Still LIfe With Pears". I started drawing still life compositions at an art retreat with my friends Erica Huntzinger and Rachel Weaver-Rivera in 2001...that was the start of a whole series of new work. Tomorrow I head up to WI for another long over due art retreat weekend with them. It's exciting to know that some other new theme may develop on this trip so many years later...

secret project...deadline looms

More to be revealed at a later date....

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".

Thursday in the studio...live

As I mentioned the other day, I've been using Gawker to capture my live painting sessions in the studio....the hard part is the editing with imovie and then getting all of that to show up here, Typepad had good instructions. Kate and Rich and of course Lynda.com have both taught me a lot...I'm using Viddler.com to host the video. So here goes the first one: Music: "Run On" by Moby from Play:The B Sides

KC ...my afternoon at the easel

We head to Kansas City at the end of this month to do the Prairie Village Art Show. I was very happy to be one of the 90 artists selected from over 600 that applied. In conjunction with my new road trip series of paintings I also want to create similar works that encompass  places & landmarks of specific cities and neighborhoods (stay tuned for Chicago neighborhoods this summer!). Talented artist & my good friend Laura Nugent (who resides in KC and will also be exhibiting at the show) supplied me with a list of such items and with the added help of google images for reference I created this composition. I even taped it's creation with a webcam but you'll have to wait on that as I'm still challenged when it comes to editing. And of course I must finish this painting, (which I am confident I will do soon) now that I have this ability to document it. Curious? I'm using Gawker.

Murphy & Dudley Digital Sketch

In case you all think I've stopped painting I thought I would mention that I am working on several commissions. Most are in the sketch stage but this is the one I'm about to paint. My customer is Stacy of ZuZu Petals, they design adorable invitations, stationery and note pads. This is going to be a happy memory painting of her family's beloved hounds Murphy & Dudley. Dudley used to smile with all his teeth...It's a fun composition and I love the colors she chose. If you are interested in a Pet Portrait please visit my website! you can also see examples on my Pet Portrait Blog.

Here's a peak at her the ZuZu Petals website:

Artist Statement.....I finally wrote one.

I only accomplish these important things when I really don't have time. I should be packing as I'm heading out of town in the morning for my 4th annual Birthday Adventure...Premise: Go to sleep or wake up someplace you have never been on your birthday! This year I will go to sleep near Lake Wenatchee in the Cascade Moutains of Seattle at my brother's new cabin!

So back to the statement, the deadline for Chicago's Public Art Portrait Project is Monday, I just couldn't pass it by. The Proposal required a Design,Concept Statement, Resume, Slides and...sigh, an Artist Statement. I have been putting this off for too long...instead using a weird bio/statementee thing. So tonight I did it...please note this project does not involve my animal imagery so I did not include anything relating to the animal art or mission. That will be an altogether separate piece. When I have more time I will created a combination statement that ties it all together. Enough talk, here it is:

When I paint, I feel like I am on an adventure, the blank canvas or board is like the open road. It’s easiest to take a route I know well but most satisfying when I have the courage to go down a path I have not traveled before – that’s when my most interesting compositions emerge.

Based on my adventure theory, I guess it’s not surprising that many of my paintings include roads and narrative landscapes. These painted stories include a visual vocabulary of beloved shapes and patterns that make up my contemporary folk and urban pop art style. I have a constant source of imagery influenced by my dreams, daily sketchbooks and my precious adopted dogs.

Raised in a small Wisconsin town, I always dreamed of living in the big city. The energy and vistas of Chicago’s more industrial, urban views constantly inspire me. My style was surely influenced by a childhood of endless Sunday mornings sitting in a Catholic church staring at the stained glass windows.  My color sense further developed every Christmas as my Mother allowed my Brother and I to mix our own frosting colors for holiday cutout cookies. Those colors still make up my palette.

Making art and seeing the joy it brings to other people inspires me, and keeps me moving forward in life, always excited to create something new.

-Anne Leuck Feldhaus

I would love your feedback. If you are looking for tips on how to write your artist statement I highly recommend visiting the very helpful sites of Alyson Stanfield, Molly Gordon and Arianne Goodwin. And most definitely check out the Smartist Telesummit for statements and so much more.

A Busy Weekend...

On Saturday I hung my show in Fluorish's Fine Art Gallery with the help of my trusty assistant Kate...

it's a beautiful space with great lighting and very high ceilings and the nicest staff you'll ever meet. My opening will be on March 15th and will be on all day event from Noon-7pm...a family day with lots of activities.

On Sunday Rich & I ventured to Merrillville, Indiana to purchase an amplifier...it was a business trip for both of us as I took advantage of being the passenger and sketching the journey to and from Chicago. It's landmarks and unique signs that make the paintings fun and familiar, not so many left around any more. One of my favorite local land marks was the  Magikist Lips sign....I remember as a kid driving through Chicago visiting from Wisconsin, how cool my brother and I thought that sign was. Sadly the last Magikist sign came down in early 2000. It was the logo for a carpet cleaning company...which I just learned on wikipedia, I would have thought it was for something more fun, like those goofy wax lip candies we used to buy at the  dime store.

I'm starting to dream up other ideas for these road trip paintings. I'd like to make a deal with the tourism bureaus in every state and do a cross country road trip, sketching my impressions into paintings that they could use for marketing their state....we could rent an rv so and bring the dogs with us, I hate leaving them behind when we travel. Sounds like big fun to me, I love the open road!  Here are Sundays sketches, kind of murky...I forgot to bring a good sharpie and had to use an old stubby one found in the bottom of my purse:

The negative for the day was this horrible, mostly unmarked, detour for I-65 going south...this added much time and many miles to our little excursion. You know something is wrong when you stop at a toll booth to ask for directions and the attendant hands you a flyer as though she was expecting you.

Color....finally!

I'm excited to finally be making progress on my road trip paintings. I started them last fall after our October trip to Alabama. I have been contemplating the color for a long time, but I see now that it has been worth the wait. Okay..who am I kidding, I have been scared to add color, I forget that if it doesn't work you can simply paint over it!

The ceiling is really low so I placed them on the easel horizontally... grumbling as I did it (I know there is a big lofty studio out there just waiting for me) I realized that it's probably a good thing for me to do now and then compositionally. I also work upside down from time to time.

The red border was a bold move for me but I think it really works.  I'm hanging a show next weekend at Flourish Studios and would love to have these paintings done in time...you know me and a deadline!

How does it feel when you create?

Excerpt from an email interview I had 2 yrs ago:

1) How does it feel when you paint?  What do you enjoy most about the process?
It feels like an adventure, the blank canvas or board is like the open road - it’s easiest to take a route you know well but most satisfying when I have the courage to go down a path I have not travelled before – that’s when my most interesting compositions emerge. I love each step and am often tempted to leave it as is, but then have to carry through with my process: the rough black sketch of my initial composition...the abstract color field created after and then bringing it all back into focus with black line.

2) How do you feel when you've successfully completed a painting? I feel a giddy happiness, a sense of accomplishment and sometimes a sense of surprise and wonder that I did it.  It gets me excited about the endless possibilities of unknown creations ahead...

3) What does "successfully completed a painting" mean to you? 
It means I’m experiencing the feelings in #2!  Sometimes it takes several days, weeks or months for me to really appreciate or fully see what I have created. I have plenty of unsuccessful pieces around – but these are critical as the most treasured advice I ever got was “you have to make a lot of bad art in order to get to the good stuff so you better get to work!” ...George Cramer, my Sculpture & Foundry Professor and mentor in college.

4) What three words describe how you feel about your work?
Happy, hopeful, grateful...

If you are still reading this...Now it's your turn, tell me how you feel when you are creating... be it art, writing, cooking, gardening, etc.

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.

#10 is my Nemesis...

I get lots of emails from other artists looking for tips and help. I have collected a great referral list of sites and other inspring artists to check out among them is Keri Smith...she posted the list above on her Wish Jar Journal and I had to laugh when I read it because I happen to be having a miserable artist's week: Numbers 1,3,5,9,10...especially 10. I'm not supposed to feel this way in January, this should be free and easy catch up time but instead I feel like I'm never going to get caught up.

On a positive note here are some very helpful resources to check out:
www.artbizcoach.com
www.artbizblog.com
www.another.girlatplay.com
www.kerismith.com
www.smartist-telesummit.com
www.cherylphelps.com/workshops.html
www.artmarketing.com/books
www.karenrossi.com/faqs-licensing.htm
www.maryengelbreit.com/ForArtists/GettingStarted.aspx
www.porterfieldsfineart.com/howtolicenseyourart.htm
www.surtex.com
licensingshow.com