Blog - Page 2 of 13 - Leichsenring Studios

My best friend’s kitchen the second time around

by Sharon Leichsenring· December 01, 2021· in Artwork, Kitchen·

It was the perfect solution, this backsplash I painted for my best friend almost ten years ago. Just perfect, well, until it wasn’t. As much as we love something, it works in the moment, it reflects our taste at the time until it all changes. Quick trip down memory lane, here’s a shot of the “ best backsplash in the world” It’s whimsical, loose, colorful and if you want to know more about it, check out the post at www.Leichsenringstudios.com/my-best-friends-kitchen/ But I digress. It was going to be a major change in the kitchen. The cabinetry was going to be repainted, a subtle off-white color. So before I fill you on my contribution, let me show what’s involved in what is arguably the best painted cabinet work I’ve seen. Huge shoutout to Brennen Zaborowski at www.classicrefinishers.com (203-731-0838). The prep work and taping was meticulous. These cabinets are forty years old, in excellent shape. The finish is layers and layers of rock hard lacquer. Here’s the kitchen taped and contained, ready to be sprayed. The frames were sprayed on site, the doors and drawer fronts on his shop. Now take a look at what the surfaces look like when finished. […]
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My Home Away From Home In Texas

by Sharon Leichsenring· November 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Bathrooms/Powder Room, Ceiling, Columns, Dogs, Floral, Gold Leaf/Silver Leaf, Lettering, Murals, Trompe L'oeil·

There are times as I think about the subject for my next newsletter, that I remember, I’ve been doing them every month for thirteen years. Blatantly directing you here, almost all of them are on my website, under the tab “Projects”. What’s not so apparent is my connection with Texas. The late nineties saw my goodbye to my career as Sharon the Sign painter. It was not quick, or painless. One doesn’t sell a sign painting business. It is a matter of walking away, or moving on. For me, it was to the world of decorative painting, mostly murals in my case, but also some really satisfying work with plaster and glaze. I spent a three year period in both worlds until the Studios’ demand for murals was in position to shut down the sign painting. In weeks that I typically worked at least 60 hours making that change, I also needed to go back and take classes to fine tune my skills. Trompe l’oeil classes for starters in New York with the legendary Pierre Finkelstein, and then on to San Antonio at the atelier of the esteemed Nicola Vigini. My quiet little plans were pretty much dashed to the gutter […]
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What’s with the trees?

by Sharon Leichsenring· October 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Ceiling, Childrens, Headboards, Historic, Staircase, Trees, Tropical·

I’m working on a mural design right now. It’s a tricky one, more of a puzzle at this stage. I’ve got to weave in my clients’ favorite Central Park NYC locations, and in a very natural way, add in the Eiffel Tower and a pair of European landmarks that have a great deal of importance. I’ll be sharing more about it when I start painting, but that won’t be happening til spring of next year. But. Right.Now. This is the most challenging part, to make the transitions from vista to vista feel effortless. Not contrived at all. My magic elixir, add trees. In this case it will be winter branches, heaped with snow. I know it will work, as I’ve used trees before for just this solution. Trees, actually, (besides clouds or maybe scrolls, but we’re not talking about that right now) might be my favorite thing to paint. Pictures say it better. So, this mural which is in a private residence in Branford, CT, portrays many historical vistas of the now bygone Branford Driving Park, first used for horse races, then automobile in the early 1900s. Check out just how elegantly the trees frame each vignette and bring your […]
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I’m in a Brick State of Mind

by Sharon Leichsenring· September 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Brick Treatments, Fireplace·

The only thing that has finally stopped surprising me in the roster of types of work I do is the vast differences of tasks I’m called on to do as a decorative painter. From the intensity of designing tightly composed murals, to free fall painting clouds and onto the hardier workload of plaster textures, I have learned to shift my focus from all, and concentrate on the task at hand. And right now, it’s bricks. Bricks, bricks and more bricks. And what to do. So let’s just get this technique out of the way. Whitewash. Diluted paint (just thinned with water). Apply and rub off. Many thin coats til you get the look you want. I must confess, I’ve never actually EVER used white paint to white wash. I like a dirty gray or taupe. Use white on red brick and there’s no getting around the pink overtone. Here’s a section in progress. There’s little use discussing it. I’m not a great fan. I still see pink. Not as bad diluted with a dirty color white, but it’s there. Pink. So time to move on to some fun stuff. You want to change the look of that brick you just […]
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Paint is the best medicine

by Sharon Leichsenring· August 02, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Budget Conscious, Lettering, Murals, Scrollwork, Video·

I’ve told you all, dear readers, that I am beyond fortunate to have found the field in which I work. Very seldom are my days not creative and filled with challenges that stretch me as an artist. And then along my path comes this hallway! It’s well appointed with molding, easy on the eye colors and flooring. But it’s a residence. And it’s boring, though my clients are anything but. So what to do? It’s not really a place for a mural, it’s a walk through. The answer had to be contemporary, colorful and could we add fun?? Oh yeah, indeed we could. It’s times when I know I going to go quite a way out of the box that I like to make a 3D model to show my client the design. And I might add, I just love making them. Here’s the finished model in actual color and scale. At home in the studio, I started the makeover for the mirror. Sharing a little trick here with any DIYers out there. Using playing cards is a great way to protect from paint getting either on the mirror or under the edge of the mirror, where it shows. The trick […]
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It seems I have painted a lot of furniture

by Sharon Leichsenring· July 01, 2021· in Budget Conscious, Chinoisierie, Fretwork, Furniture, Gold Leaf/Silver Leaf, Lettering, Murals, Scrollwork, Textured Finishes, Trompe L'oeil·

When I’ve been asked, do I “do” furniture, I mostly think, a little, now and then. But as samples started for yet another piece, I realized, I “do” quite a bit of furniture.Sometimes it’s truly a cost effective method to transform an existing piece to fit into perhaps new or recently redesigned surroundings. Sometimes it’s to add that all important dash of whimsy or elegance-both staples in my repertoire- to a new or old piece.So here we go…A coffee table was treated to a tissue finish for texture and bold zebra striped graphics A very traditional piece got an art deco uplift in black and metallic gold, brush applied. Another traditional piece got star treatment with stried plaster, tissue, metallic paint and glaze with razor sharp accents in black enamel This bathroom vanity had wicker painted in trompe l’oeil. You can see my source inspiration on the printed paper on the lower shelf. It looks so real. These two pieces were lovely when first purchased but the wood finish no longer fit the space. Painted in a deep burgundy, depth added with black wax and just the slightest tough of pewter metallic wax for accent. The buffet pictured here is […]
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When you are not afraid of color

by Sharon Leichsenring· June 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Ceiling, Furniture, Murals, Textured Finishes·

When the designer says this client is not afraid of color, I must admit, my heart beats a little faster. A lot faster. And from the very start, we were looking at color. Great, saturated choices. There would be a focal wall, very contemporary and the ceiling which benefitted from an opportunity of just thinking outside the box. Dyane ( Dyane Prezioso Interiors of Huntington, CT) had chosen the anchor color of Aegean Teal. It’s Benjamin Moore’s color of the year. Incidentally, I loved it so much, I recently repainted my own family room with it. And the simple method that makes it work? The walls and all the trim are the same color, with just a sheen difference; matte for the walls and satin for the trim. The effect is a warm, sexy cocoon of color. Perfect for this master bedroom. Here’s the sample we used as a starting point And the fun begins. I was looking at all the stirring sticks I had used to make the colors for my sample. Some were matte, some metallic for vibrancy. They were laying on my worktable drying and I had an inspiration. I cut off pieces and lined them up. Shot […]
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New Beginnings in Springtime

by Sharon Leichsenring· May 03, 2021· in Floral, Murals·

Yep! It’s springtime and everything is starting to bloom. Always a perfect time for a floral mural and even better when the client is requesting big, oversized blossoms. My personal favorite. To easily show the scale, I drew the proposed sketch on the blueprints. Approved! The only surprise came on the first day of work. I sometimes layout a mural directly on the wall, but because this was a freshly painted wall, I decided to enlarge the flowers on paper and pounce them. More time in prep work but makes job site time much quicker. Just tape them up and pounce charcoal through the patterns and I’m ready to go. Right. Except, when I got to my space, I found that a huge air conditioning unit had been installed on my wall. What to do, what to do?? Rip the patterns apart and reconfigure. Drawn in new buds and branches and I was ready to go. There was also to be a connecting blossom on the adjacent wall, but given that it was going to be always open, I moved that blossom across to the other side of the doorway. Now, time to paint. Easy to pick my colors. There’s […]
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A Hutch’s Tale

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Furniture, Trompe L'oeil·

“Tale as old as time, as true as it can be…” Yes, the story of this hutch’s final transformation is a love story, indeed. My client’s husband built this hutch as a Christmas present to her, back in 2003. It was always supposed to be “French country” but someone how it ended up a curious green, sporting dentil molding. It stayed that way for a while. I met my clients in 2016. We talked about many projects, and a nod to the big green elephant in the room. The house was in a transition mode. Huge and grand scale. A two story foyer with a barrel ceiling, which I would come to paint with voluminous clouds. A new master bedroom suite and a new kitchen. Wow! I actually started working in the home in 2018. We talked about that hutch. Could it be something outrageous jade green, or perhaps magenta? No. And No. Could it have copper chicken wire inserts. Oh, no. The hutch went to the back burner. Other projects moved up the to do list. And I was part of the race for time. My client’s husband was fighting a heroic battle with cancer, and he so wanted […]
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A New Take on Scrolls

by Sharon Leichsenring· March 01, 2021· in Bathrooms/Powder Room, Scrollwork·

Years ago, when I was Sharon the sign painter, my favorite thing to letter were the boat names on transoms. Often, a prospective client would say ” I just saw what you did on so-and-so’s boat. I’d like the same”. It’s a compliment. But not something I would do. There is pride in the ancient art of hand-lettering and the ability to take the same font, tweak it, change the type of outline or perhaps add swashes to the capitals. It’s true fun to play with the letters that is the realm of the hand letterer. Something not easily done with vinyl letters generated by a computer. So no two transoms I lettered looked exactly the same. Move fast forward to the present and the subject of scrolls. If you’ve been following this newsletter, you know just how much I adore incorporating them into a mural or letting them take center stage on their own merit. The challenge, to keep the character of a scroll, but adapting them so that they have their own unique personality. This project was brought to me by Dyane Prezioso (Dyane Prezioso Interiors 203-913-0082), who loves drama and color as much as I do. Here’s […]
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