Blog - Page 2 of 12 - Leichsenring Studios

A Tree Grows For Ryan

by Sharon Leichsenring· July 01, 2020· in Artwork, Events, Gifts, Lettering, Trees·

Earlier this year, my son made a seemingly simple request. He asked if I could put a family tree together for him, as a birthday gift. I agreed, thinking, how much work could it be. I’d find the time to do this. His birthday was months away. I’d fit the work in to my regular schedule. And then, schedules and life as we knew it changed with the pandemic. Time was the one commodity I found I had more than I’d ever dreamed or wanted. So, it was time to tackle this project. What cast this simple task into a whole new world of “what was I thinking of when I said sure, no problem”? The little clarification Ryan had requested. Not just parents and ascending grandparents. Could it include siblings and their off spring from the generation of his and his wife Annie’s grandparents? This tree rapidly escalated. Just getting the information was a challenge unto itself. Special thanks here to my daughter-in-law’s parents, Nancy and Tom Trevethick who provided me with excel formatted spread sheets. What a surprise to find the documentation extends back to John and Priscilla Adams who settled at Plymouth Colony after crossing the Atlantic […]
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My Garage Doors Have Murals

by Sharon Leichsenring· June 01, 2020· in Artwork, Birds, Floral, Murals, Trees, Video·

This is a project that has been back-burnered for years. I’d contemplated painting murals on my garage doors for several years but every time I thought about actually beginning the work, I’d rethink the entire situation. Would I really want to start something that would take me months, squeezing it in on weekends and being at the mercy of the weather? That start and stop approach would probably suck the joy out of this. Would my neighbors really want to wait who knows how long for me to get this done? And then Covid 19 arrived and life changed for all of us. If I could sew, I’d have been making masks, but I don’t. I needed to keep finding projects that would keep me focused. And did I have a beauty sitting in my pocket! No excuses to prevent me painting my murals. I had a new job. Here are the sketches I started with. And I should show you my canvas. I started the first one by sketching it in charcoal. Remembering that I was now dealing with outside weather, I went over the charcoal with a thin outline of paint. I had made myself an outside coloring […]
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When One Door Closes…

by Sharon Leichsenring· May 01, 2020· in Artwork, Floral, Murals, Trees, Trompe L'oeil·

Week 6, maybe 7 of stay at home because of the virus. It has been truly a time of doors closed to us. It’s been difficult for all of us, reduced to telephone and facetime conversations. My granddaughters have been especially on my mind. So when I got the idea to use a door to absorb my energy (and no, not by slamming it a few dozen times, tempting as that might have been), I couldn’t undo the thought. I picked a door that is part of the core space of our open kitchen and dining area. I’d paint this door to fill that void in my heart. While deliberating which photo I’d use, top choice became an older picture that captured my two older granddaughters perfectly. It’s three years old now. Harper was just a few months shy of her fourth birthday, Darcy was two years and three months. I loved their sturdy little legs and Harper’s protective arms around Darcy’s shoulders. My son Ryan had caught this perfect moment. In fact, I liked this photo so much, I’d painted it once already on a 3′ x 3′ canvas for their bedroom a few years ago. But this would […]
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The Second Time Around

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 01, 2020· in Artwork, Closet, Floral, Video·

There are times when my head just hurts…so many ideas and no time to get something selfishly done, for myself, for just the joy of painting it. Enter corona virus. The world as we knew it has changed. Each of us looks for a way to preserve our sanity. For me, I find solace where I always do, in painting. This time, I could use this time to indulge in painting something that had been floating around in my mind. Months ago, I sketched three options for a bedroom focal wall mural. I loved the one my client chose. It was perfect for her space. But one of the ones she didn’t pick? I fell in love with its possibilities. I knew a place for it. I could see it done in my mind’s eye, but when would I steal the time… Heads up on the closet doors in my bedroom. It’s one room where I just had played it safe, neutral. Beigey. So vanilla. One day, there would be time to bring this room alive, and now, here was the time. Warning to the husband. I’m painting the closet doors. Don’t ask what, just trust me. Perfect answer from […]
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A Toy Chest for Caroline

by Sharon Leichsenring· March 02, 2020· in Artwork, Childrens, Clouds, Fretwork, Furniture, Gifts, Lettering, Video·

Let me say this: Soon to be one-year- old Caroline is a lucky little girl! The first grandchild of my client (her grandfather) will be receiving this painted toy chest, beautifully built by her grandfather, for her birthday. I met my client almost eight years ago while on a job site. I was there painting a ceiling dome; he was there doing his master carpentry magic. We’ve stayed in touch via this very newsletter you’re reading now. We started the conversation about this project with a few sketches. The requests included her name and perhaps fairies? Done. You had me at fairies. And an opportunity to create my own. Here is the beginning work. A little more refinement, and a few more fairies later, we arrived at scaled drawings approved. The chest was delivered, primed and basecoated. I just about forgot to take a picture before I started but remembered enough to catch this. I must admit, I am at my most absolute best (forgive me if that grammar is incorrect here) when I can immerse myself in the studio with such a project. To create a magical world for this little person with my own characters and as much […]
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It’s a Dog’s Life

by Sharon Leichsenring· February 03, 2020· in Bathrooms/Powder Room, Dogs, Furniture, Headboards, Murals, Stairwell, Trompe L'oeil·

I’ve been asked before do I have a signature style. The answer must be no, because surely all my clients would not be so alike as to want the same style. But what I realized, there is something that I add to a mural whenever the opportunity presents itself. A dog. Yep! I love them, and love when their owners want to make them part of a mural. Sometimes, it’s simply a mural all about dogs. Like this one in Grapeland, TX which was a combined portrait of three generations of labs. Brandi, Cooper and Hank, sunning themselves on the dock. I found it best to have plenty of snacks in my pocket as the dogs checked out my progress. On the other hand, the dog might become the focus of the mural. In this example, I was painting a headboard directly on the wall because painting it made it possible to match the existing furniture. What was the best part of this project was painting the owner’s beloved Bella to be with her always. This wine cellar mural has the vineyard as a background for this make a statement portrait of the owner’s dog. Dogs become such an important part […]
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The day I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life

by Sharon Leichsenring· January 02, 2020· in Artisan Finish, Ceiling, Clouds, Columns, Dome, Historic, Murals, Trees·

It’s the end of the year as I’m writing this newsletter. A time to reminisce. It seems only fitting to share a project that convinced me becoming a decorative artist was truly my future. This work predates the onset of my newsletters. Although I’ve grown as an artist, I feel his work has withstood the test of time. You let me know after you walk through it with me. My client made me laugh showing me the first area I’d be painting. A dome on the second floor. From the windows spread the lovely Bantam Lake in Connecticut’s town of Morris. He commented, ” I know there are all those theories saying that painted clouds are so much more than white on blue. That is you look closely, you’ll find the whole of the rainbow. Pinks, yellows, gray. Maybe so, but I want to see what I see when I look out these windows. I see pure blue skies with white clouds. Give me that, Sharon”. And so I did. Here’s the finished picture. Work moved to the wine cellar. The brick work, including the ceiling, had been completed. I needed to make my mural look integrated with the space. […]
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Molding painted green with wax and gold gilding

Invite me to your wedding

by Sharon Leichsenring· December 02, 2019· in Artisan Finish, Events, Lettering, Places·

So, when you think of some of the projects you might contact a decorative painter for, a number of things might come to mind. Paint a mural, create an artisan finish, add some clouds to a ceiling. But here’s a request that was as much unexpected as it turned out to be great fun. I was contacted by a mother of a bride to be. Might I consider handling some of the “more artistic” aspects of her daughter’s wedding? You betcha! It’s a great feeling to dig deep into the bag of skills one collects as a decorative artists, and pull them out to use in a new and unexpected way. The bride shared her palette, which I converted to Benjamin Moore colors I’d be able to use. She also requested, a touch of gold. Oh yeah, we are in business now. So I’ll walk you through some of the items I handled. The bride’s Dad was going to be constructing two large frames on which strung wires would hold the seating place cards. Here is the sample I created. I used a molding Dad had found. It had a simple leaf pattern that tied into the elegant leaf motif […]
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Garden Bedroom part 2

by Sharon Leichsenring· November 04, 2019· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Ceiling, Fireplace, Floral, Murals·

Last month, I had just completed the garden mural in this master bedroom. Recently, I finished the rest of the room and wanted to share just how much was going on, and how it all came together. I am very protective of my clients, and in this case, even more so. This project started after the loss of my client’s beloved husband. However, it had been in the making before that. His opinions were noted, his choices honored. When we encountered a stutter in progress, we acknowledged his presence. We have laughed and cried in this room. The trim color was picked by him for the master bedroom suite. Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. It showed the moldings to their best. My job was to come in, then, with neutrals that’s could hold their own and pair with the Simply White. My best find in this project was a newer Ben Moore color, Ice Milk. It was used on the ceiling and then I mixed its match in Lusterstone. Ah, lusterstone, my favorite plaster, with its shimmer of mica. Perfect for the reflections the chandelier would spread. Before I share pictures of that, I need to backtrack and show how all […]
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Partial garden shot with door and gate and flowers

Take a walk with me in the garden

by Sharon Leichsenring· October 01, 2019· in Artwork, Birds, Brick White Wash, Floral, Murals·

I was just more than a little excited to start work on this particular mural. It was challenging in scope and detail and it had to completely set the mood for this entire master bedroom suite. I started with three drawings, knowing that I was so in love with one of them that I thought I could never do justice to the mural if it wasn’t to be the layout I wanted. “Pick me, pick me”, I probably not so silently whispered. But my client and I were so both in tune to what we were looking for that it was no contest, and the already chosen became official. That done, revisions took place. The gate to the garden was modified to include a pattern from the scrollwork that exists in the home’s foyer. Flowers were listed to be included. We would have hydrangea, roses, lilacs, shasta daisies, black-eyed susans, pussy willow, lavender and bee balm. Irish ivy for the brick wall. Artistic liberty indulged here. Our garden blossoms with no regard to the season of each particular flower. Here they grow in unison, in vibrant color that so suits my client’s personality. Each flower chosen in deference to a […]
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