Artist's View

2011-01-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

Next show:

April 2011

Lucia Douglas Gallery

Bellingham Washington

2011-01-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

"Dreaming of Party Birds"

2011-01-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

"Chatting Birds"

2011-01-05T17:31:00.000-08:00

"Yellow Bird"

2010-09-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

My web page, Art Northwest is being updated with images of rarely seen mixed media pieces. This lapel pin is titled "Desert" it is made of antique buttons and mixed findings.

2010-09-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Title : Daisy in Moonlight

mixed media on paper

7"x4"

2010-03-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Iris and Air Waves

acrylic on canvas

18"x24"

2009-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

"Tree of Life with Heron Buddha"

7 1/2'x6 1/2' screen

Installation takes place on November 25 2009

at the Silvery Moon in Fairhaven Washington.

2009-10-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

The 4th annual Plein Air Paint Out art show Opening

Nov 6

6-10 pm

Blue Horse Gallery

301 W Holly St

360-671-2305

Maritime Park with Ley Lines

Plein Air

acrylic on canvas

24"x18"

2009-08-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

My brother Scott and his family have a thing for Disneyland - I hope they get to go this year.

Something about this painting makes me think of the old opening for Disney cartoons with the castle and Tinkerbell .... hence the the big bunny trail that ends with the name of this painting.

Scott's Blossoms

24"x18"

acrylic on canvas

2009-07-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

"Blue Jay River with Ley Lines"

24"x28"

acrylic on canvas

There are so many changes in our world right now and

my thoughts are of what is holding us together.

Ley lines are meridians in the earth's body and they make me think of the solder in stained glass that connects one piece to another making it a cohesive unit.

I'm sure these electromagnetic lines are changing too but they help me feel "connected" in spite of all of the shifts.

2009-06-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Soul Window Sunflower #2

has been accepted to Axis Gallery's

4th Annual National Juried Exhibition

This years juror is Janet Bishop curator for

SFMOMA

for more information please click on the link

Axis Gallery

2009-06-02T11:30:00.001-07:00

To purchase paintings please contact Matter of Yes Studios

360-305-1668 matterofyes@comcast net

2009-06-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

"Dawn's Flower Boat"

acrylic on canvas

4"x12"

2009-06-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

"Liquid Sunshine"

acrylic on canvas

16"x20"

2009-06-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

"Yellow Sun Butterflies and Waterfall

acrylic on canvas

16"x20"

"Odilon's Monarch" acrylic on canvas 24"x18"

"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy"

Disneyland Plaque

This is the world that I strive to capture. The feeling of yesterday, with it's treasure of savored moments. Of slow travel by lazy river boat where time doesn't stand still, instead it becomes absorbed one honey sweet drop at a time.

There is a joy that comes from sitting in the same spot, viewing the same image for long enough that one experiences the different shifts in light. I like to portray this as a play of shadows and movement all lumped together as if a dozen stills of the same view were taken minutes apart and then layered one on top of the other.

When we have enough of these still-life images stored away in our being, tomorrow begins.

And fantasy. I recently saw a painting of an airplane with a caption that read "Tomorrow is the fantasy we make it through today for." Webster's says fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. This is the land of all possibility where we don't filter out our childlike wonder, where sunlight and butterflies are one.

2009-03-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

"Winter Bouquet with Kitchen Prism Light"

(Winter Jasmine, Snow Drop, Ghost Flower, Primrose)

acrylic on canvas

6"x8"

The light starts to change a few weeks before spring equinox about the time the primrose starts to bloom and the winter jasmine is finishing her watch. The sun starts to shine through the stained glass window in the kitchen as well, creating prisms on the wall. The message seems to be," spring is coming".

This painting will be available at the MUSEUM OF NORTHWEST ART

JUNE 2009

2009-02-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

study for "Yellow Sun Butterflies and Waterfall"

ART PHENOLOGY
The idea of making a painting a day as a diary is what inspired me to create this blog; recording time and space, if you will. I do this type of study with my garden and it's called phenology, which is a study of moon phases and plant energies that change with the season. These studies always end up in my work in one form or another. What would art phenology be called? This blog has still ended up as a study of my world translated into creative thoughts and ideas but done at a much slower pace, like nature its self. Some people thrive on the quick, I've realized I want the slow, deep thought that is nourishment.

This painting is another glimpse into my process. It is a study of a waterfall for a larger piece. Lately, I am intrigued by the idea of dots and spots, the flashes of light amongst the shadows when the wind blows, or that moment when you can almost see each droplet of water in a waterfall. I have created a large body of work and many series of consistent paintings with cohesive themes but before I make a series of work again I am asking myself...is this you? Is this you? How intriguing to try and find out if this is indeed the best way for me to interpret the world so that others see what I see.

2009-02-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

I've been studying the techniques of other artists, and Odilon Redon is this weeks artist of choice. I hesitate to call the painting to the left mine, because the color and composition are so similar to one of Redon's paintings, but I love it just the same since I gained so much from doing the piece.

Title: Redon's Poppy Bouquet

14"x14"

Medium:acrylic on canvas

2009-02-06T10:17:00.000-08:00

In Theodore Wolff's book titled "Morris Graves

Flower Paintings", he states; "As Graves saw it, truth, when honestly and persistently pursued in art, invariably led to beauty. Not necessarily the sort of beauty associated with sumptuous flowers and dazzling sunsets, but the more quietly interior kind that induces insights and intuitions, inspired greater self-awareness, and invited a contemplative mood.

About this painting

Title: Morris Graves Hellebore Bouquet

6"x6"

acrylic on canvas

$75.

To purchase this painting please contact my studio at 360-305-1668

2009-01-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

Seeing paintings by Morris Graves and then doing

studies at his house in 1999 has continued to inspire my passion for creating still-life work. More information is on my web page

at www.artnorthwest.net

About this painting

Amaryllis still-life

6"x6"

acrylic on wood

$75.

To purchase this painting contact my studio at

360-305-1668

2009-01-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

This painting is based on the view from my favorite Cajun restaurant in Bellingham... it always makes me think of Paris.

Title:Umbrella

Size:6"x6"

acrylic on wood

Price: $75.

To purchase this painting please contact my studio at 360-305-1668

Lake View

2009-01-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my painting blog. This is a record of paintings that I started January 2009. Currently my posts are slow and I hope to post about 3-4 paintings a week in the future.

About this Painting

Title: Lake View

Size:6"x6"

acrylic on wood

$75.

The nice thing about working on wood is being able to start with a very smooth surface. A great deal of my work is on canvas and before I begin a painting I always smooth certain areas of surface of the canvas using multiple layers of paint.

This particular painting ended up much more detailed than I had originally planned because I got caught up in the pleasure of creating the texture of the chair and grass. In the future I am hoping to be looser with my strokes so that I am able to create more finished pieces in a weeks time. I really enjoy the freedom of working quickly and remembering the feeling of the moment.

2009-01-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

2009-01-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

Is this you? Is this you? It started out as the flu that ended up in delirious revelatory hallucinations about myself, sort of Brian Wilson's sand box meets Hunter S. Thompson. As an artist I realized I wasn't sure if I was painting images based on my own ideas or images I had outgrown. I hadn't painted much in several months and wasn't sure I ever wanted to paint again. The pain of too much reality about the roll artists play in this society wasn't working for me. I wanted to be a muse, an inspiration and no one was even showing up at my shows never mind supporting the work. Regaining strength to do art was terribly difficult and I lacked the passion for it. What could I do that would get me back in the studio sooner. I needed passion for my work again. I started creating. Small, crafty, things at first. A beaded bird, a pair of knitted gloves, then some painted handbags. I need more.

The notion of painting as a journal seems meaningful. It should be a personal way of marking ones steps. If it's seen by others, will I at least feel the satisfaction of camaraderie? Maybe the joy of painting is enough and maybe it will lighten the load of others too even when what I say with the work is "I hurt too". Do artists give up because they are alone or because they are not valued. All questions I don't have the answer to, so instead I find joy, I accept pain, I open my heart, I create honestly and I share it with you.

Nancy Leshinsky