Blog - Page 2 of 14 - Leichsenring Studios

Tromping the Wall

by Sharon Leichsenring· September 30, 2022· in Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

Trompe l’oeil. Such an artsy, sometimes intimidating term. Simply translated, it means “to fool the eye”. To decorative artists, it means using light and shadows to create the illusion of three dimensions on a flat surface. And be still me heart, but I am totally on board when a designer says let’s try a little trompe l’oeil on this wall, for a very contemporary look. Let’s trompe! Working again with the talented Dyane Prezioso of Shadee Lady Interior Design and Custom window treatments. She’d had some thoughts of creating an architectural approach to a focal wall that mimicked using flat molding and paint. But let’s forget about using wood, and do it all in paint. Would it look believable? I’m going with a big, whopping yes on this one but let’s stop my giddiness right there. She wants a little more drama. We are going to be working on a dark charcoal background. The background wall is simply not smooth enough to tape. Sigh… So we will do it freehand. Engage steady hand and let’s go. Years of sign painting has readied me for the task. And so it goes. Working on a dark background, everything will need an extra […]
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History Repeats Itself!

by Sharon Leichsenring· August 31, 2022· in Artwork, Historic, Horses, Murals, Staircase, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

I received an email recently, from a gentleman who had just purchased a home in Middletown, NY. He found a mural that I had painted there ten years ago. Music to my ears coming as he wrote “we admire the murals that you did. We will proudly keep them the way they are”. He taught high school history, and it was his curiosity that had him inquire. He asked if I could fill him in on any of the background of his murals. (Don’t worry, I’ve got the old newsletter with all the pictures and I’ll be sharing that below). He had not bought the house from my client. There had been , in fact, another owner in between, who also left the murals as they were. I had painted them on Masonite panels as the work was very detailed, translate, time consuming, and Middletown was just a little too far for a commute. I painted them at home and installed them when completed. I explained my client, a police officer, had not just a historical interest in the city. He was also a Civil War buff. We decided to morph that focus into a view of Middletown starting at the time […]
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Where The Water Leads Me

by Sharon Leichsenring· July 31, 2022· in Artwork, Ocean· 0 comments

Ok, I’m going to admit this. The term “abstract art” makes me shudder, at least inwardly. The Wiki definition brings little comfort. “Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from a visual reference.” The farther away I get from my visual reference, the lower my comfort level. Protest was simply not an option when Designer Dyane Prezioso approached me for just that, an abstract canvas for a client’s indoor pool room. And let’s just chop it into three pieces (like that would make this any easier) so it would present as overall 6’ by 9 ½’ when hung. A triptych of three 36”x72”panels. So, she was looking for water, the color, the movement, think of it as marble made of water… Wait, that clicked. We talked about color-that was the easiest part of this- keeping the hues clean and not grayed. To say I sketched it loosely is an understatement. The fractured shapes of marble resonated as I started painting in a manner most foreign to me, big chunks of color. Working in my studio took the pressure off. Here’s the first two sections […]
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One Serving of Magic

by Sharon Leichsenring· July 01, 2022· in Artisan Finish, Furniture, Mica, Textured Finishes· 0 comments

I’m not exactly sure when it happened. The day I officially believed, that perhaps, if I closed my eyes and wished as hard as I could, I could make paint magic. How arrogant and ridiculous! Years of honing my skills and working in the studio hours on end searching for the perfect, well, whatever, and I was willing to just give credit to “magic”. Like it just happened? The possibility may have crept in the day my talented designer friend Arianna Thill (actdesignct.com) posted this on Instagram. ”Fairy dust”. Indeed. If it’s on IG, it must be true. It tickled my fancy and so appealed to my ego. Have I mentioned, artists spend entirely too much time talking to themselves. Out loud sometimes. But there it was and soon enough comes my current client, she who owns this 100 plus year old buffet. It’s been in the family for generations and is in terrific shape. We’ll call her Miss C. She’s been receiving my newsletter (yes, the very same one you’re reading now) for several years and had been contemplating when she would have an opportunity to have me create something for her and her husband. Know that I am sending […]
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Take Me Out To The Ballgame

by Sharon Leichsenring· May 31, 2022· in Artwork, Childrens, Clouds, Murals· 0 comments

I’m struggling for a way to approach this with a little humility, but now that it’s done, I’ve got to say, it takes my breath away. So…let’s start at the beginning of the second mural in a child’s bedroom, that connects to the baseball locker I shared last month. My client was looking for a mural with a tremendous amount of action at home base. Having played the position of catcher, we agreed the scene would be of the catcher tagging the runner at home plate. We both liked the idea of a more dated, vintage look so you’ll see the umpire in his black suit, the looser, baggier uniforms on the players and the ball fields and bleachers from a gentler, more simple time. The first sketches placed the mural over the bed. The space above the beds simply didn’t give us the dynamic we were looking for so we crossed to the opposite wall, where the mural could then be seen from the bed. Here’s what that wall looked like. Same advice from my client. Just ignore that door (yes there’s one more) and paint like it’s not there. Boy, did the scale change. Here’s the next two […]
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The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 30, 2022· in Artwork, Childrens, Murals, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

It’s been said, “All the other games are sports, but baseball is a love.” You either get it or you don’t. I love baseball, and so does my client. There are actually two murals in this young boy’s bedroom. Today I’d like to share the first project. There was a perfect space to paint a set of lockers, filled with baseball equipment. A perfect space? So says my client, pointing at the wall. All I can see is the paneled door, waiting with traps and crevices. He says, yeah, just paint over it. So that’s the plan. I start working on a sketch. You can see I included the door frame, and it’s obvious from the start I cannot plan to avoid any of the difficult areas, the corners of the raised panels. I will simply force my brush over them. Here’s my sketch. You’ll see a blurry area on the top of the two shirts, here and in further pictures. I’ve blurred the area that shows my clients son’s name, first and middle, to protect his privacy. The sketching goes fairly easily. I’m starting to believe if I squint enough the door will disappear. The blocking in process goes smoothly […]
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Little ballerina putting on her toe shoes

A Tale of Ballerinas

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 01, 2022· in Artwork, Childrens, Murals, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

I literally just finished the topcoat on this mural and it’s truly special. I am so happy to be sharing it with you. The request sounded relatively simple, something ballet themed. Ok, but notice we’re talking the real thing here. Check the picture. There’s a mirror in place, with a ballet barre. The carpet has a section in front of the mirror that can be removed revealing a wood floor was practice. Though the child whom this room belongs to is a little shy of five years old, the request for the design is for something that she will enjoy now and will continue to like as she gets older. Hmmm…not so simple. And a composition that would open the imagination to many stories of the ballet. It did take a little while to get to the final design. I really enjoy this part of the process. It gives me an opportunity to share my client’s dream for this mural. Here they are. And might I add, it got a little more complicated when my clients said include the area with the closet door on the right side of the mirror. Yep, just paint over it like it’s part of […]
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My Own Camelot

by Sharon Leichsenring· March 01, 2022· in Artwork, Clouds, Murals, Trees, Video· 0 comments

It started one night I couldn’t sleep. It was back in October. I was staring at a corner in my bedroom, an outside corner that puzzled me until I realized why. I’d painted murals around corners that turned inside a room, but this corner turned outward into a small entrance into the bedroom. How would a mural translate going from one side to another? And then there was no stopping the thinking process that had started. I’d have to paint something. Something (how selfish!) that would be just for me. Trusting my husband Hans would love whatever it might be as much as I would. Turns out, I am a very difficult client indeed. I wanted everything. I wasn’t sure. The possibilities were overwhelming until I got a request from someone who had seen a mural I’d done years ago, that was a border of acanthus leaves. (I do hate to leave loose ends of a story. That request is on hold until the potential client decides she will purchase the property she’d had in mind.) But the seed was in place and I had a direction. I love painting acanthus leaves but this time I’d go one step further. The […]
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The Unmade Bed

by Sharon Leichsenring· February 01, 2022· in Artwork, Murals· 0 comments

Once in a blue moon, or so, I get a request that leaves me fumbling for an easy answer. Most mural projects have a sense of direction. This recent one was quite the exception. My client had been to Metropolitan Museum in NYC to see a collection of 250 drawings done by Paul Cezanne. There was just something about the sketch entitled “The Unmade Bed”. It resonated with her and she wanted to use the image in her own home. I’m clicking while I’m talking to my client, and nothing is coming up on google search except for this image. And a definite and determined client that wants it on her wall. And a perfect wall in her loft bedroom, flooded with light. I’ve gone through all my artbooks and find no mention of the Unmade Bed. All I have is this notation from the Met Collection. “Paul Cezanne’s The Unmade Bed (c.1885) is a drawing made in the artist’s own room. At this time, Cezanne often drew small details of his everyday surroundings. This drawing demonstrates Cezanne’s philosophy: Drawing and painting are not different things. To the degree that one paints, one draws. The more the color becomes harmonious, […]
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Sail With the Vikings

by Sharon Leichsenring· December 31, 2021· in Artwork, Bathrooms/Powder Room, Historic, Murals, Ocean, Trompe L'oeil, Video· 0 comments

I can’t say it enough. The opportunity to create a mural in a powder room makes my heart smile. It’s a chance to create a contained world in a very small space. In this case, the powder room is a scant 61” square but my painting area was 85 square feet. My heart is more than smiling here, it’s doing jumping jacks! My client, a woman of extraordinary vision is requesting pure, undiluted magic. Bring a Viking village to life! Challenge on. Here are the first two proposals. Did I forget to mention the magnificent mirror driving this concept? A carved dragon wrapped around the mirror. More about this mirror later. Suffice it to say, the dragon carvings will appear on the ships, on the long houses and on the high seat in the mural. Also, it is paired with draw dropping dragon sconces. Here is the final approved drawing. I’ll show you photos of the entire mural, but let’s just set the mood with this video. Here are the four walls. I’ve included the wall with the mirror before the mirror was hung so you can see it without the sconces and mirror. The high seat was added at […]
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