If you follow me over on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been a bit obsessed with flowers this spring. Growing up in Florida, we really only had two seasons, summer and not summer. Until we started traveling out West, I’d never really experienced a true Fall, Winter, or Spring. Spring in the Northwest is especially lovely given all the amazingly beautiful blooming trees, shrubs and wildflowers! Ever since my first glimpse of cherry blossom petals littering the Seattle sidewalks, I’ve been smitten by Spring here.
left| cherry blossoms, right| Seattle Sidewalks, acrylic on paper, 18×24
The juxtapositions of colors and textures inspired me to begin a new series on paper, Rain and Rhododendrons. I’m still continuing with the Feminine Wiles series, but was itching to get back to painting in a larger format and thanks to a nice big pad of Canson Mixed Media Paper, a portable drawing board, and a sturdy travel portfolio gifted to me by Mr. F for my birthday last month, I was ready to dive in.
Forest Blossoms, acrylic on paper, 18×24
Like the Feminine Wiles series, these too are color studies, but I’m enjoying experimenting with a looser style, being able to work much more quickly and freely on larger paper than I’ve been able to ( so far! ) on small panels.
top| Arcata Marsh Wildflowers, acrylic on paper, 18×24, bottom| Allen Pond with wildflowers
I haven’t had dedicated painting time in a few weeks and I am itching to get back in, especially after Mr. F and I took a camping trip this weekend up to the Trinity Alps. I am so full of inspiration for this series, I am about to burst! So there will undoubtedly be more to come, soon.. In the meantime, you can see full shots of each of the pieces I’ve already completed in the Rain and Rhododendrons gallery page. And in case you missed it, there is also a Feminine Wiles gallery page, both under the My Work heading in the top navigation bar. I’ve also added an artist statement and bio on the My Work page– so much harder to write those things for yourself than it is to help others!
Melissa Mudd
May 20, 2014 at 9:40 AMI really like this new direction Leslie. The combination of the loose unfinished edges with the expressive paint application is quite beautiful. Keep ’em coming!
Artsy Forager
May 20, 2014 at 10:43 AMThanks so much, Melissa! I’m really enjoying the process, they are definitely helping me loosen up my tendency to work in a very controlled style!