This Painting really POPS!!! Oils on Canvas, 8x10, and I paint just so MUCH faster now :) I guess I don't have that fear to screw up anymore, I donno. But it was a fun little piece, painted from life in one quick sitting - I kind of intuitively came up with the olive/yellow background and pleasantly surprised myself. I'm very happy with this painting, everything really "works"! :)
I'm back to painting! After painting a beach right on top of my door(glass door that connects my bedroom to my living room), I dreamily wake up to the imaginary sounds of turquoise waves splashing all about within foot's distance. And then off to painting I go! "Green and Red", is a work in progress on a gallery wrap canvas. Gallery wraps are canvases that are extra thick on the sides so you can paint those also for all intents and purposes. Give your painting an ultra dimensional look -- no framing required!
A New Art Project!!! -- it is a New Year, after all!!! And a New Year for me is a year of daring ventures, it is full of surprises, mischief, and new beginnings. I am shooting for the stars, and maybe I have a particular one in mind -- just watch me, armed with inhuman determination, persistence and solid-as-rock commitment. Commitment -- a scary word, capable of making a grown man cry, running towards the edge of the Earth, perhaps even hiding behind the "brickle bush".
I want to share the beauty of the aquarium( I call it a Piece of the Ocean) with the world - I was talking to a friend recently and realized that most people don't know very much about fish.
"Do fish have sex?" :)
"Do they poop?" (shock!) (and how dare they?):)
"And are they stupid? They are really so small there must not be enough room for the brain?" :) There is a certain amount of stereotypes, relative to "wives tales". Just like us people, fish are of various intelligence, character, aggression level. There are "loners" - and then there are ones who die if can't have companionship. It's a Whole Mysterious World, only quiet and unheard. Behind that cheerful, glittering color -- is an illusion of Harmony and Peace, Serenity and Dreaminess. You heard me right - an illusion, i.e. how we perceive it, as the truth of the matter is -- There's more Life in the aquarium than we have ever imagined. We just have to look closely. Behind that black furniture decor and a water splattering tranquilly, lies the imitation of the Ocean with it's dark, deep, uncovered secrets, with it's gravity defying powers of self healing and evolution. In conclusion, I hope you enjoy the painting! And Happy New Year to You, my reader!
Despite my recent divorce(on New Years) I am still finding time to paint. Here's the newest creation, this is an interpretation of Elvgren's timeless work, and I don't claim to be anywhere near his genius, but it's a fairly large 24x18 piece, oils on canvas. I had a ball painting this, especially her face. Instead of a donkey and an en elephant, I placed a cute kitten on her lap.
I decided to rename the piece from Decadence Rose to Dazzle Rose. The truth is I don't really know what "decadence" means, other than it sounds very mysterious and ancient. And I do prefer to give a positive, shining attribute to a painting rather than a mysterious darkness...And yet, there's plenty of velvety, seductive darkness in this painting...Oh well! As you know, a painting has a life of it's own - much like a child that you give life to, no matter what you nurture into it, there seems to be a character there, from the very beginning. I've been asked how do I make the photo's on my website look so good? The answer is: I always take the photo's during the daytime, when it's nice and bright. As you can see, the second(finished) piece has a lot of glare on it, even know NO fill flash was used. That's because the photo was taken after dark, and still I managed to pull it off, by taking my picture at an angle, rather than directly in front of me. An Update: I've received THE CARDER METHOD DVD this weekend! I am looking at this painting with "new eyes". For I have sinned: I gave in to the temptation to "turn on" the contrast on the painting, and as a result, it is too bright, not enough mid-tone. In the same time, I've tried to capture the mood and to see beyond the obvious, -- from The Painter In Oils by Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst, a student of William Bouguereau,(The Painter in Oil has become one of the most sought after books on technique and the science of painting. Read this rare treasure for FREE at Art Renewal Center: The Painter In Oil)
Yes! I have signed up with an online gallery. I love their site. This is me at Boundless! It is super easy to navigate, and you can even "preview" the painting on the wall or sort by color. There are cool features, like "my collections" buttons which allows a user to "bookmark" your favorite art. My website, Angela Leppard's Fine Art at Boundless Gallery (ALFA@Boundless), can be found here: http://alfa.boundlessgallery.com/ What's more, I am now also with a physical gallery/studio. We just opened so there's a lot of work to be done, but it's actually coming along beautifully. I'll keep you posted!
I found Amy Lee's soundtrack Good Enough on You Tube and couldn't help sharing. It's so inspiring it sent shivers down my spine. I would love to paint Amy! Maybe one day I will. Alternatively, I have heard this track on Jay Leno's show with Jerry Seinfeld and I found that the sound quality was MUCH better on the show than on the video. The high notes didn't seem to "dissapear", she didn't hold back, and her voice intensity just seemed to touch my soul.
On the photo it's really hard to make out details, unfortunately. This is done in a "painterly" technique, with thick impasto brushstrokes(the paint is raised in high peaks, this is done wet-in-wet manner). The concept behind the picture is romance, so this is an atmosphere I was going for. A friend told me a symbolic story of how one side(of the bridge) represents a woman, and another a man. They are holding hands despite the distance, rainy weather and fog. The painting, of course, stands on its own merit and does not tell a story, as an artist is not a storyteller; however I was inspired by the emotion of the story and this is where it took me.
Airlpane in the Night Sky, 20x16", Oils on a smooth Panel. I was going to add yellow lights on the ground, but we'll see. Right now I like how it is monochromous, and I don't know how introducing yellow will affect the whole picture.
Noteworthy: I have now a couple of people asking me how to buy my art. That's great! The truth is I am not set up for payments(yet) but I am working on it. I have applied for eBay account and their payment system, and once I'm approved with all the paperwork, yes, I will be selling my art in the near future! Obviously I haven't thought about the business part of art, yet, but that's about to change. Tune in! Right now you can "subscribe" to email newsletter(right panel) to receive the latest paintings/blog entries right in your mailbox!(powered by feedblitz, so make sure to mark them as your "approved" senders)
"If you like pinacoladas and getting caught in the rain!" What a very bright painting! Eye candy. A nude red haired woman in the glass of Pina Colada appears to be showering herself in the rain -- under the orange cloud. Around the glass, there are orange butterfly wings...This is a Summer painting of pleasure and delight.
This a very bright painting, with a sense of glow, where the lit parts stand out even in the darkness. Look for all sorts of shapes in the clouds! Since this is a digital photo of an actual, still-wet painting, this image desires to be reproduced better - the colors are still brilliant but on the photo are much darker than in reality; and yet when I brightened it in Photoshop the photo has become washed out, losing most of it's rich orange and mahogany colors; in a week or two I will try to scan it. Here is a good example of a direct, one sitting painting. Since I don't use any mediums or chemical dryers I will let the painting dry on its own and then will apply another layer of transparent yellows and oranges and will perform minor adjustments, and then sign it. This is number 9 in my Liquid Creations series, which is all about drinks and where they take me. I think this is the brightest painting I've done so far.
Everyone knows that both pomegranates and wine are good for your heart -- in fact, they are so loaded with antioxidants, they are called "a miracle drug for aging". I see a lot of cheer in the darkness and richness of shadows, this velvety darkness adds a mystery to the painting. The brightly lit sides contribute to the"singing colour" and create a simple, yet subtle beauty with an internal glow . The three seeds of the pomegranate contrast beautifully with the white of a tablecloth. They look delicious even from up here. The canvas was specially primed and sanded to an eggshell smooth surface, thus a superior handling of the paint. There are quite a few glazes that helped me achieve this glow, and it took about 8 hours to complete this painting.
20x24" Oil on Canvas Now, not many people know this, but I actually studied in Ukraine in a pilot prep school. I happen to love the skies and the airplanes fascinate me. Everyday, when a big metal bird rushes by in the heights, I look up like it's an angel waving hello at me. I always smile and wave hello back!
The Good Life, Oil Painting on canvas, fish in a martini glass
Ahh...think the Good Life. A happy little clown fish is swimming in a martini glass(possibly, blue curasau?) 'neath what looks like sparkling, icey mountains; and the glass itself appears to be glowing in the dark! Part of my Liquid Creations collection.
Eye See You is an Eye candy. Now it is hanging in my living room and it adds so much dimension to my wall that it is like a 3-D image, you can't take your eyes off of it, it draws you right in! Originally started as a cup of coffee, I did not plan the eye in it, I just waited to see where the painting will take me. The background is sandy beach and the seashore with waves crashing in the distance. I must confess I fell in love with this painting and will have hard time parting with it!
"Welcome to my blog. Art Factory -- not your ORDINARY art!!! I mostly paint in Oils, but sometimes I can't resist the spontaniety of Pastels, and Acrylics; I enjoy portrait work, and my paintings depict various themes: impressionistic figurative, landscapes, still life with a "twist", angels and anything else that seems out of the ordinary and special. My style is bright, bold colors, that are expressive, captivating and "happy"."
