Artisan Finish Archives - Leichsenring Studios

In the words of Dr. Seuss “Oh! The Places You’ll Go!”

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 27, 2023· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Bas Relief, Brick Treatments, Ceiling, Clouds, Dome, Murals· 0 comments

Was he speaking directly to me, the esteemed Dr. Seuss? Would the poem provide answers to the absolute gut-wrenching reaction I used to have when contemplating a project where I’d spend days on ladders? And the bad reaction only began with ladders. There were scaffolds to climb and scissor lifts to navigate. Seems the love of painting was and continues to be greater than the fear. If you shudder at the idea of heights, tag along with me through a few of my challenges. First check out this barrel ceiling. Here is the space during construction. It’s good you can’t see my face as you’re reading. I really had to work hard keeping the panic in place. However, and it still amazes me every time, once I have that stern talk with myself and start painting, the fear truly dissipates. Got my backer’s scaffold in place and commenced painting this ceiling, grid method, square by square. This next project was a cloud dome that was over an inside pool. Look at the support structure to hold the dance floor that would span over the approximately 28’ wide pool. Once I climbed through the trap door onto the dance floor, I was […]
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Mixing a custom color of the lusterstone

Be Still My Heart!

by Sharon Leichsenring· March 31, 2023· in Artisan Finish, Bathrooms/Powder Room, Ceiling, Mica, Textured Finishes· 0 comments

There are some days when I believe the universe is more than ready to co-operate and send a project my way where I know that I will enjoy every single minute from concept to execution. And make a client’s dream come true? Probably mixing metaphors here, but that’s the frosting on the cake. So, the starting place. A spacious master bath, with great bones, beautiful fixtures, a floor that sends my imagination spinning and a client looking to get rid of her boring blue walls and she says the words. The key to my heart in secret code: I want you to make magic. Make it wow! Well, ok then. Let’s go. Here’s what the view looks like. I’ve reduced the color to black and white. Color will distract. We discussed ornament and the design is simply just pouring off my pencil. Drawing on the room’s photo makes it easy to visualize. We both agree Lusterstone, a luscious plaster infused with mica, will make the most of the light fixtures. I played with several color mixtures, dabbing my floor sample to see what color would sing out and keeping in mind it is studded with silvery blue glass inserts. Here are […]
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Odds and Ends

by Sharon Leichsenring· December 31, 2022· in Artisan Finish, Floor, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

I did title this email Odds and Ends. The “Odd” portion is not so much odd as it is simply a technique I don’t use often. And what is the rarely (for me) used technique? Its French name is Faux Bois , translating as fake wood, or woodgraining. It falls into the category of trompe l’oeil, French for fooling the eye. So, the new challenges presents itself and it’s one I’m ready to take. A portion of the floor in my client’s library was damaged when the adjoining foyer floor was replaced. Staining the damaged area and trying to restain the existing floor which was decades old would never be a good match. So gather up all the little tools of faux bois that so seldom see the light of day on my watch and let’s tackle this floor. I thought I’d share the steps so that perhaps if you ever have the opportunity to see some faux bois work, you can appreciate the many steps needed to achieve it. First, choosing a basecoat like what the color peaking through the grain that the eye sees. If only all the steps were this simple. I primed the area first, and […]
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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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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· 0 comments

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· 0 comments

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· 0 comments

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· 0 comments

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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When you are not afraid of color

by Sharon Leichsenring· June 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Ceiling, Furniture, Murals, Textured Finishes· 0 comments

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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A Hutch’s Tale

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Furniture, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

“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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