Ocean Archives - Leichsenring Studios

Where The Water Leads Me

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

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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Sail With the Vikings

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

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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A Tale of Two Commissions

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 01, 2019· in Artwork, Birds, Closet, Gifts, Ocean, Trees·

Sometimes, it’s truly a pleasure to take a break from flinging paint and plaster at walls and sit down before a canvas on my easel. I recently had two such projects. My first commission went as smoothly as any artist could wish. My client has a vacation home on Long Beach Island and was looking for large canvas pieces. After discussing the size of the walls, we settled for gallery wrapped canvases, measuring 30′ by 40″. I would paint the edges, eliminating the need to frame them. What to paint? After reviewing literally hundreds of photos, the choices narrowed down to a particular stretch of beach and another view of the bay area. The dunes were easy to find reference pictures, but the advantage of having an artist design the scene is that it can easily encompass all the particulars that were important to my client. No one photograph could do that. These clouds, these waves, this angle of the bay where small ponds caught the reflecting blue in the sky. Add a slight touch of impressionistic painting, and voila! We have arrived. Here are the two paintings, still at home in my studio. It was really hard parting with […]
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Strictly by the book… not in my studio!

by Sharon Leichsenring· May 03, 2018· in Artwork, Birds, Furniture, Murals, Ocean, Trees·

I’m going to have to start being a little more careful with my words. I simply can’t start every newsletter by saying this project surely is one of my favorites. But is it true, each and every time, and the bookshelves in this project have been on my bucket list of things to paint for a long time, and I loved it even more than I thought I would. My client gets all the credit for the concept. The four plain panels on this built-in cabinet were calling for something, but what ? She saw bookshelves in her mind’s eye, so that’s where we started. The sketching of one panel with five shelves, meaning a total of twenty shelves total, seemed a bit much. So I suggested letting the upper portion of each panel acting as a window showing some of the beautiful vistas of her properties and we were on track. Included amongst the books were some meaningful possessions and a beloved pet. Once I had drawn the four panels to scale, I added them to the photo of the actual cabinets to see it clearly. Here’s what that looked like. Canvas cut and ready to […]
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They had me at Krakens!

by Sharon Leichsenring· October 04, 2015· in Dining Room, Furniture, Ocean, Property Brothers, Trees·

I love a good challenge. It keeps me on my toes and thinking out of the box. I recently completed two projects that did exactly that. The first was a mural for a dining room. My client made it clear that she and her husband wanted something that truly captured their tastes and personalities. She mentioned mermaids, schooners and kraken. She had me at kraken. This was going to be fun. Kraken indeed! Norwegian mythological sea creatures. Here are a few of my initial sketches. Take a look at the finished painting. Each porthole is 5 ½’ in diameter. Keeping the budget in mind, simple trompe l’oeil planks completed the composition. Below is a closeup of the mermaid porthole. They might not be your cup of tea, but it was exactly what my client had envisioned. They are intriguing, these krakens, are they not? This month also brought the opportunity to be the decorative painter for a one-of-a-kind desk. The Twin Root Desk was designed by the brilliant Patrick Briel of Tripka Design. Imposing and utterly massive, it commands its office. And here you can see the two-tiered desk from another vantage point. Here is a […]
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Powder Room Jewel Boxes

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 06, 2015· in Artisan Finish, Bathrooms/Powder Room, Mica, Murals, Ocean, Trees, Trompe L'oeil·

Every decorative artist has a favorite place to play with paint and plaster. For me, it’s powder rooms. There’s absolutely no limit to the possibilities. They are self-contained little worlds that can relate to the rest of the home or they can shine with their own personality. Here’s one of my recent favorites. Love the boldness of the red walls. Here it is blocked out in a solid color. Now, take a look with a metal gold on the center ornament plus dynamic shadows and highlights. Here is another acanthus inspired panel. Plaster with infused mica is another route. Don’t you love the way the light dances on this single color application? Another choice is to use the plaster as an allover embossed damask stencil. A lighter shade of the plaster dazzles as the background. Here is the same finish with the bonus of a painted window with a view from the neighborhood beach. This is a true Jewel Box. The ceiling was painted with metallic gold, as were the doors and woodwork with an added coat of subtle dark brown glaze. The stencil on the band that acts as a chair rail is embossed with the […]
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By The Sea…

by Sharon Leichsenring· November 10, 2013· in Murals, Ocean, Places·

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea… The ocean’s call is irresistible to those lucky enough to have spent their childhoods within its sound. And so it was when I first got a phone call from the enormously talented interior designer, Linda Brencher of Linda Brencher Interiors of Branford, Connecticut. She was looking for someone to help realize the vision she had for the foyer of the guest cottage she was designing for her client, who happened to be a friend from childhood. Uh-oh! Another vision! I live for those words. But I was not prepared for what I found when I first saw the space. It was small, like 65″x 84″ small. And it had wainscotting up to the six foot point. And a window, and a coat closet, and the front door and the entrance to the kitchen. And a slanted ceiling! I can’t even be paying attention to my grammar right now, because I am remembering thinking this is crazy. I had one wall that was just 2 feet tall; the opposite wall rose seven feet from the molding. The remaining two sides were triangular in shape rising from the two foot mark on […]
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Ahoy, Mr. Mole

by Sharon Leichsenring· October 02, 2012· in Clouds, Lettering, Murals, Ocean·

Little over a year ago, The Milford Fine Arts Council (in Milford, Connecticut) initiated the Murals of Milford Program. The commission for a mural on site #2 was a competition open to the public, and my mural proposal was chosen. Thanks right now, for a community so supportative of artists, their endeavors and the value of public art! The site is located at the Ship’s Store of Milford Boatworks at 2 High Street in Milford. Here’s a picture of my “canvas”. You can see the original surface was painted cinderblock, but concern with a little peeling and bubbling of the surface substrate led to a new surface of a material called di-bond ( a sandwich product of aluminum front and back with styrene in the middle). This was attached to the building, with a special little “bump-out” which hid wires and pipes. Let’s take a look at that same corner now. Here’s some pictures of the finished mural, which measured about 19’x5′ on the front, and 11’x5′ on the side, with the corner section rising to 7′ to accommodate the differences in height. Some interesting challenges maintaining the horizon line. I took a little artistic license adding a […]
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Mermaid Medicine

by Sharon Leichsenring· September 06, 2011· in Childrens, Commercial Space, Murals, Ocean·

It’s always an enjoyable project when the words “fun, children and mermaid” are part of its description. I came to do this work through an unexpected path. A client of mine had a situation which required her to bring her child to this Connecticut hospital. First, the best part: her child is fine and received excellent care. What was in need of a little “artistic medical attention” was the play area in pediatrics. My client made a donation to show her appreciation and suggested that I might be the right person for this makeover. Here are pictures of the play area with the artwork in place. The work was done on canvas, and installed much like wallpaper would be handled. By doing this, in the event that the area had to be relocated, the artwork could easily follow. Check out the little details as well. I made a pattern for the “wave” molding that borders the bottom of the mural, which was then cut out of wood. A subsequent donation enabled the addition of another mural area in the adjacent nurses station. Again, the work was done on canvas. I thought you might be interested in seeing my concept […]
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Painting Away The Winter Blues!

by Sharon Leichsenring· March 05, 2009· in Bathrooms/Powder Room, Birds, Ocean·

I imagine that you are with me in feeling that we have had more than enough winter. Here is the solution that one of my clients had for keeping the wonderful ambience of a favorite vacation place and enjoying it all year (especially during the relentless months of winter). This bathroom is used by the owner’s children, the oldest who is a young teenager. The mix includes 2 boys and one young lady, so it was important to keep from looking too juvenile. The subject chosen is Fort Myers in Florida, a place that has sentimental value for the entire family. The room is literally wrapped with scenes of Fort Myers—the pier, the sandpipers in a single line parading at the water’s edge, the small cottages buried in the palms and finishing with the pelican standing guard at the edge of the beach.. The crisp white of the trim and cabinetry is paired with a charcoal granite filled with glints of silver and blue. The soft cloud filled skies meet the ceiling painted blue. All mural work was executed in fine artists’ acrylics. This project was pleasure from start to finish. Think of a […]
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