Artwork Archives - Leichsenring Studios

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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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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I’m Seeing Red and I’m Loving It!

by Sharon Leichsenring· February 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Ceiling, Dining Room, Furniture, Mica·

I say I always start at the beginning of the project, for over ten years of monthly newsletters. But I just can’t do it with this one. I’ve just got to show what I’m so over the moon about. Look at those red walls! And those swirls of bright gold! Makes you want to lift up your arms and twirl. And just smile. So now, lets get back to the beginning. Early autumn, 2019 (yes, pre-Covid times for sure.) I was brought to the project by Dyane Prezioso of Prezioso Interiors. We both share a love for color and drama and this room was going to be the ultimate place to indulge with that love. The project had several parts: the walls, the ceiling and a 100 year old buffet just crying for a new life. As we saw the room in the beginning, it sported a dated old world red glazed finish. The most accurate description would be tomato soup red. The white molding and ceiling did little to help matters. Dyane chose the perfect red. The picture doesn’t do it justice. A little background about why this color is so special. This is Benjamin Moore’s CSP-1200 Burst Cherry. […]
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Setting a new table

by Sharon Leichsenring· January 01, 2021· in Artwork, Budget Conscious, Furniture·

If ever there were a year that needs a new look, it’s surely 2021. The inspiration for this table makeover started from designer Dyane Prezioso in the diamond shapes in one of my favorite Cappiello vintage posters for Isolabello. She saw harlequins and that initiated the design. As soon as I started some rough sketches, I saw that the hard diamond edges needed some softening and if adding some type of a scroll is an option, I’m in my happy place. The table was sanded, primed and painted in great gray color from Benjamin Moore. The paint is a satin finish from their Advance cabinetry paint, a perfect choice for tables and chairs. Here’s a closeup of a detail, and then the full tablet top. The large diamonds were stried in several shades of gray and a creamy white. The scrolls added a perfect balance of whimsy and movement. Dyane’s fabric choice for the chair seats is spot on. Take a look at how perfectly the monotone palette of the table serves as such a great backdrop for the creativity of my client. Hard to believe it’s the same table. Paint, one of my arsenal of tools in making 2021 […]
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A Crib for Greta’s Dollies

by Sharon Leichsenring· December 08, 2020· in Artwork, Birds, Childrens, Furniture·

I got a call recently from my cousin Nancy. She was going through her attic and basement, and making those decisions that people like me (a wee bit of a hoarder) can never do. A few things she had that just weren’t staying in her house, but perhaps I’d be interested. The doll’s crib caught my eye immediately. The two square panels on either end screamed Illustration! Of course I couldn’t pass it by. I neglected to take a photo in the before state. We calculated it was about ninety years old. Her mother’s father had made it for her mother. It was in great shape, but chipped and painted a sad faded beige. Some sanding and a new coat of paint and I was ready to go. Fabric choices for the new bedding provided my palette. I’m old-fashioned. I enjoy sewing by hand. The nubby fleece provided extra texture. Here’s the new bedding. I knew almost instantly what I would be painting. This piece is a Christmas present for my youngest granddaughter, Greta. Unlike her two older sisters, at twenty months, she is hardly ever to be seen without one of her dollies. Holding one, or pushing it in […]
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Thanksgiving 2020 – Wall Worthy Words

by Sharon Leichsenring· November 22, 2020· in Artwork, Gifts, Lettering, Scrollwork·

Pick a word. Any word Ok, pick a dozen, maybe two. Give them to Sharon, and… Wait a minute, let me back up a moment to the beginning of the story. I was working with a client that was trying to find a way to have a design that showed all the words that were important to her and her family. She told me she also had a photograph she maybe wanted to use. (secretly, this is when I panic cringe. What if it is a picture that is boring or badly taken? How can I avoid hurting someone’s feelings?). However, I was more than pleasantly surprised when she showed me the picture. It was a candid black and white that captured her and her husband while on a cruise vacation. It was just perfect, but too small and we had no negative. I’d had a lot of success enlarging photos of photos I had taken. Steady hand, I snapped a photo, used the filter Warm dramatic and suddenly, the black and white came to life, not exactly sepia, but warm, dark grays and beige tones that were perfect for the room. I envisioned a simple frame with a scroll […]
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Sakura Sakura

by Sharon Leichsenring· August 03, 2020· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Chinoisierie, Floral, Murals, Trees, Video·

Sakura, sakura… My client played the music of this traditional Japanese folksong while I was painting. It means cherry blossoms. And touches on the deeper meaning of why the cherry blossom is such a revered symbol. They last but such a short time, paying homage to the fleetingness of life. And so, such a delicate balance, this task. Using such a powerful motif as one of the major elements of this mural. Add in the iconic Mount Fuji and figure this puzzle out in a contemporary home. The serenity of the architecture embraces you as soon as you see and appreciate the design. Dark wood is balanced by huge banks of windows that deftly bring the simply elegant landscaping into the home. My task, to design a mural for this long triangular wall in the kitchen. It’s approximately 18′ by 45″. I find it comfortable for my clients to see my ideas drawn on pictures that have the entire room in them so they are not looking at a drawing in isolation but rather seeing it in relationship and scale to the room. From the start, I saw the backdrop of pine trees that I could see from almost every […]
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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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