artsy forager

Tag: watercolors

  • Reviewing. 2019.

    Reviewing. 2019.

    It’s that time of year to look back at where I’ve been and ahead to where I’d like to go!

    To say 2019 was busy is definitely an understatement! Eleven shows turned out to be an insane pace for even this over-productive artist. AND we bought and furnished a house this year.

    I always find this review process such a helpful exercise, so I hope you’ll indulge me (and maybe even enjoy it a little?)

    acrylic paintings completed: 80

    Somewhere around 75-80 acrylic paintings seems to be my norm, judging by 2018-2019. I think I might like for that number to go down a tiny bit, but as long as I have galleries requesting (and selling!) small works, it looks like that quantity will continue.

    Each year I explore a new series, even if briefly, and this year it was ENTANGLEMENTS. This series felt right and even exciting at the time, but my interest waned, as it seems to do sometimes. It may be something I revisit eventually, but for now, I don’t have a desire to go any further.

    I continued to revisit VENTERS seascapes, my tiny SCINTILLA series, and my series of water abstractions, ECHOES. In the ECHOES series especially, I explored ways of expressing more texture and movement within the context of water. I loved experimenting, but find myself longing to go back to the more calm, peaceful expression of water reflections.

    Sometimes we have to diverge from the path only to find our way back to where we are headed..

    My LEMOLO series continued to evolve and I was very pleased with where these took me this year. Things brightened and softened for my two person show at Art & Light and then, after signing on with a new Seattle gallery, I allowed myself to explore more mountainous terrain in these memory journeys. I’m looking forward to seeing this series and my landscape work continue to evolve in 2020.

    watercolors completed: 28 plus lots of sketches and a super secret commission

    I’ve been painting these abstracted tree watercolors for 2 years now and took on a couple of new challenges this year– the first being a big commission/licensing deal with a major outdoor brand (stay tuned for that announcement in 2020!) that took a lot of time in phone calls, emails, and negotiations and then an incredibly fast turn around. This wasn’t my first foray into licensing but it was the first time I’ve created paintings specifically to be used as a textile pattern design and definitely the quickest turn around EVER for a commission.

    The second watercolor challenge was to create these little watercolors on a larger scale for the New Additions show at J Rinehart Gallery in Seattle.

    In my biggest personal news of the year, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE. After 8 years of traveling, we were both ready to settle down and in 2018 we decided Western Washington was our spot, especially after hubby was offered a job in Everett. We started casually looking at houses around March and found a little house that felt warm and welcoming, that seemed perfect to grow old in (ugh, we have to plan for that now), and in an area we love and neighborhood where affordable houses go FAST. So we pulled the trigger much sooner than we’d planned and hubby actually closed and started moving in while I was on the East Coast for the Breath | Air show and my niece’s graduation. Insanity!

    So any creative juices and energy not expended in creating over 100 paintings has gone into planning, painting, furnishing, organizing, cleaning and all the work that goes into a new home. It is coming along, I’m hoping by this time next year I will no longer be laying awake at night designing rooms in my head.

    Compared to years past, we didn’t get much hiking or adventuring in this year (see paragraph above about new house, ha!). But we did finally get to see Mount Hood, Lopez Island, and British Columbia!

    With such a busy year, I didn’t quite get to all of my goals that I laid out at the end of last year, and priorities shifted so that some of these weren’t even on my radar..

    Expand my gallery representation in the West/Northwest and beyond.. CHECK but this is still a goal for 2020, specifically representation in the West (Colorado, Santa Fe, Jackson Hole, etc).

    Expand representation for corporate and healthcare artwork placement in the Pacific Northwest.. applied to a few opportunities but other priorities came first. This is an ongoing quest.

    Build a new website (ugh! this needs to be done but I am SO not looking forward to it).. This is at the top of my list for 2020. Stay tuned!

    Merge this blog into the new website.. Artsy Forager has been around for almost 9 years but having this blog separate from my artist website just doesn’t make sense anymore. I will probably continue to have both domains functioning for a while, but clicks to AF will redirect to lesleyfrenz.com. I will still blog it just won’t be under the Artsy Forager domain. This goal has been a long time coming, so fingers crossed I can get it done this year!

    Explore more IMMERSIONS work in acrylic.. nope. This didn’t happen. I still think about it occasionally but don’t feel a strong pull. So this is dropping off my Goals list.

    New goals for 2020:

    Streamline my accounting, inventory systems

    Streamline, do better organizing and planning for social media

    Create and foster community with other artists in the Northern Puget sound area

    Attend at least one workshop to either learn a new skill or improve existing skills, explore new ideas

    Apply to at least half a dozen artist residencies

    2020 is already shaping up to be commission heavy (looking at somewhere around 10 commissioned paintings already in the planning stages) and I’m looking forward to seeing where the new year takes me!

    Thank you, dear friends, for continuing to follow along on this journey, especially between the radio silences here on the blog. I won’t promise more blog posts next year, but I do to come and check in more often.

    Hope to see you more in the new year!

  • Showing. Charlotte & Sacramento!

    Showing. Charlotte & Sacramento!

    Hiya! I have a couple more shows opening this month to tell you about, just in case you missed them on my social media feeds.

    SHELTER, a mixed media, group art exhibition featuring new works from Janet Eskridge, Kim Ferreira, Lesley Frenz and Duy Huynh. We explore various themes of ‘shelter’,  from man-made and naturally occurring structures that nurture and protect, to symbolic spaces that offer emotional respite and refuge. 

    my work in SHELTER

    SHELTER is up at Lark & Key in Charlotte and shoppable online on their website. The show is now through November 27th, their regular retail hours are 10am-3pm Wed- Fri and by appointment. They are open the 2nd Saturday and Sunday of each month, as well!

    Something New, is a group show featuring new work by Robert Adams, Najin Bae, John Karl Claes, Jaime Longa, Manuel Nunes, Abigale Palmer, Justin Wheatley, and moi.

    like a siren, acrylic on canvas, 36x36x1.5

    Something New will be up at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento until November 7th and also shoppable online (isn’t the 21st century great?! You can buy art in your pjs!)

    Also, a bunch of new work is coming to J. Rinehart Gallery in Seattle next month! I am super pleased to be joining the roster of artists in this new Pioneer Square gallery and happy to add a retail gallery to my Seattle representation!

    Stay tuned for more on that new round of work– it’s an exciting bunch!

  • Showing. Earth Water Sky at Lark & Key.

    Showing. Earth Water Sky at Lark & Key.

    I’ve been working on lots of new watercolors lately and am thrilled for the first batch to be debuting in the Earth Water Sky show at Lark & Key Gallery this month!

    further XXIII, watercolor and cold wax on cradled wood panel, 10x8x1.5


    further XXIV, watercolor and cold wax on cradled wood panel, 10x8x1.5

    The gallery is open for viewing Wednesdays- Fridays and by appointment. They will also host an open house Saturday and Sunday, April 13th and 14th, if you’re in the Charlotte area. But if you aren’t in NC, don’t despair! You can peruse the entire exhibition (and purchase if you so desire) online!

    I hope you’ll check out the show! More watercolors will be popping up in other places soon!

  • Growing. Watercolors GO BIG!

    Growing. Watercolors GO BIG!

    Last Fall, custom wall covering company Area Environments debuted four designs featuring my work in their Collection VI. You may have seen me post about this new collaboration on social media and I’d planned to post here much sooner but, well, life happens!

    AE and I had been following each other on social media for awhile and I was regularly blown away by the stunning designs they were putting out by favorite artists of mine like Carlos Ramirez and Andrea Pramuk. So when they reached out to see if I was interested in publishing with them, the answering was a quick and resounding YES!

    Watercolor wallpaper by Area Environments

    luckless romance

    We tried out some of my acrylic paintings and watercolor sketches but overwhelmingly agreed that the watercolors were absolutely the way to go. To give you a little hint as to the magic AE produces– most of these watercolors began as 5″x7″ sketches and can now cover a full wall.

    Watercolor sketch by Lesley Frenz

    AE can create custom wall coverings for your space, whether you want one big statement wall or to fill an entire room (which I think would be AMAZING, especially with my watercolor forests!)

    Watercolor wallpaper by Area Environments

    colors and promises

    Watercolor wallpaper by Area Environments

    gravity

    Statement wall coverings are definitely having a big moment in the design world (check out my Artsy Dwelling Pinterest board where I’ve pinned some favorites!) and AE’s wall coverings can be specified for residential AND contract design. I mean, how beautiful would these be in a healthcare environment?!

    Watercolor wallpaper by Area Environments

    drinkers and dreamers

    Head over to the Area Environments website to see more, order samples, and maybe just drool over all the stunning designs!

    Wallpaper images by Area Environments, #watercolorsandcoffee image by me.

     

     

     

  • Reviewing. 2018.

    Reviewing. 2018.

    Every year at this time I like to take a few moments to reflect back on what has transpired in the past twelve months. This year was crazy busy personally and professionally and I’m ending the year with several goals met, some hard lessons learned, and a long To Do list already in place for 2019. Care to take a walk down memory lane with me?

     

    acrylic paintings completed 75

    Wow! I was definitely a busy girl this year. I continued my ECHOES and LEMOLO series in 2018 and began revisiting my VENTERS seascape series, thanks to a show in January inspired by Florida and the inspiration found at our new home on Camano Island in Washington. This year also saw the beginning of a new series, IMMERSIONS, which I’m still excited about though I pursued the idea more in new watercolors on panel, I hope to explore more in this series in acrylics in the new year.

    watercolor paintings completed 42 plus loads of sketches

    My love affair with watercolor continued this year, especially after discovering the joy of painting large scale watercolors on canvas! My IMMERSIONS watercolor forest abstractions were especially popular and I have a feeling there will be more to come in 2019.

    Again this year, I upped my commissions completed, increasing from 3 last year to 5 this year (goal met, check!). I’m still learning what works best for me when doing commissions and I won’t lie, they can be a struggle. My painting process has evolved to where I work very intuitively, allowing the composition to emerge over time and with commissions often based on previous paintings, it can be difficult to retain the same sense of spontaneity and layering that is inherent in my work.

    commissions completed 5

    A goal for any commissions in 2019 is to paint without expectation of the outcome– to try to let the commissions evolve more naturally. A lofty goal, for sure, for a people pleaser like me.

    This year I said yes to as many opportunities as I could, and learned some really valuable lessons along the way.

    I’m sure this is different for every artist, especially depending on how one measures success, but the past year taught me that, for me, investing time and inventory in “shows” in which the venue or organizer does not have a substantial financial stake in either the sale of the work or the success of the exhibition leads to a whole lot of work and financial investment on the part of the artist with little but a pat on the back and a line on your resume in return. I usually think of these types of shows as “resume builders” but I’ve reached a point where my work is selling so well through my galleries that tying up work in shows just doesn’t make sense for that line on my resume.

    exhibition/show participation 6

    My work is selling well through my wonderful, hard working, committed galleries and representatives. And while I’m excited to participate in gallery shows, in 2019 I will only pursue non-gallery exhibitions that make sense for me financially and professionally and will be very careful about to whom I entrust my work.

    Which leads me to the biggest womp womp of my year..

    paintings lost or damaged 15 (cue sad music and crying)

    The paintings pictured above were all damaged to the extent they required hours of work to recover/repaint completely or lost in shipment this year. There were 5 more that had smaller damage while in someone else’s care and there are three more that may or may not be sellable due to shoddy craftsmanship by a vendor I’ve used extensively in the past.

    I think 2018 will go down as the year I learned some very hard lessons about how to know my worth as an artist and the worth of my work and that I must under any and all circumstances treat it as the important and valuable commodity it is and expect others to do the same. And if they do not– I will not work with them again. Period.

    But on to happier topics! One of my goals for 2018 was to increase my streams of “passive income” by having some of my work published as prints and I’m thrilled to note that my small selections of my work are available as prints through Wonderwall Studio  and as custom wall coverings through Area Environments.

    2019 will bring more print publishing opportunities, as I’ve just signed a contract with Grand Image and (hopefully) will launch my own print shop on Minted.  I’m not looking to become a print artist (original work will always be my focus), but it is my hope that by offering some of my work as prints, it will broaden my reach as an artist.

    In other news this year, the Mr. and I did lots of hiking, explored territories both familiar and new, including over a month spent exploring the Southwest.

    But perhaps the most exciting event of 2019– officially moving our residency to Washington! We’d decided in 2017 that we wanted to settle for awhile (maybe forever!) in Western Washington this year. So when the Mr. landed a travel contract in Everett and we found a lovely little apartment on the water on Camano Island, we were thrilled. Little did we know that we would fall hard for this little island and George would land a full time permanent job in Everett.

    one of many beautiful sunrises from our bulkhead

    So we’re here to stay in this place and I’m looking forward to the new year and getting back to business!

    I’ve already mentioned a few things to look forward to in 2019, but mark your calendars for May 3, 2019, when I will be opening a new show at Art & Light Gallery in Greenville alongside the wonderfully talented Alicia Armstrong!

    Goals for 2019:

    Expand my gallery representation in the West/Northwest and beyond

    Expand representation for corporate and healthcare artwork placement in the Pacific Northwest

    Build a new website (ugh! this needs to be done but I am SO not looking forward to it)

    Merge this blog into the new website

    Explore more IMMMERSIONS work in acrylic

    And of course, I will be creating new work in all my current series– so many ideas to get out of my head!

    Thank you all for continuing to follow along and join me in the journey. See you in 2019!

  • Showing. New work for everyone!

    Showing. New work for everyone!

    (well, almost!)

    October and November were a couple of crazy busy months for me in the studio, as I fielded requests from galleries for lots of new, smaller works in time for the holiday gift giving season. They’ve been so good to me, I couldn’t dare let anyone down!

    The autumnal season has always been a favorite time of year for me, so I let the palette and feeling of Fall in the Pacific Northwest inspire and guide new LEMOLO  and ECHOES acrylics and watercolor paintings.

    What began with more vibrant tones of early Fall, grew into more desaturated hues as the colors began to fade. Those late Fall colors have always spoken deeply to me, with their velvety, jeweled colors, less bright and brassy, more elegant and quiet.

     

    painting- Land I Grew In, acrylic on canvas, 12×6, available at Lark & Key

    painting- Ramble I, watercolor and cold wax on cradled wood panel, 14×11, available at Art & Light

    painting- My Heart in Tow (detail), acrylic on canvas, 12×12, available at Elliott Fouts Gallery 

    Despite being two different mediums and different series, these new works all feel like a cohesive collection and a time capsule of this wonderfully sparkly time of year!

    If you’re in Greenville, Charlotte or Sacramento, I hope you’ll check out each gallery’s offerings in person or peruse my website for all the new beauties!

    All images by me.

  • Traveling. O’Keeffe Country. Part 1.

    Traveling. O’Keeffe Country. Part 1.

    With our traveling the last seven years, it may seem like life is one perpetual vacation. But the ugly truth is that though we try to take full advantage of where we are every weekend, we work very hard and its been virtually non-stop for the past 4 years. “Vacations” weren’t real breaks– I took time off to go be in Florida with my mom, we took a week or two involuntarily while waiting for a new contract, meaning we traveled with all our earthly belongings and were negotiating contracts and looking for rentals while on “vacation”.

    So when we were presented with hubby having some time off during his transition back to working as an RN, we decided to make the most of it. Originally, we’d planned to spend most of our time in one of our favorite places, but a giant wildfire broke out the week before we were supposed to leave. And almost the entire Northwest was covered in smoke from various fires. So  traveling in the NW had lost its appeal. Then hubby suggested we finally take my long talked about pilgrimage to the places one of my favorite artists lived and worked and our Southwest Tour began.

    near moab, utah

    We wanted to take our time, not spend too many hours in the car each day, so originally planned to spend a few days in each spot as we made our way South. But the smoke was so thick that it made spending time in the Northwest unenjoyable. So after one night each in the Mount Hood & Bend areas of Oregon, we decided not to make a prolonged stop again until we got out of the smoke. And somewhere in the middle of Utah, blue skies finally emerged!

    Being the delicate PNW flowers we are, we decided not to try to camp in the crazy heat of August in Moab. Airbnb lead us to the most wonderful little oasis in the hills outside of town!

    spring fed pond, red moon lodge, moab, utah

    Two days in Moab extended to four and we had lovely visits to Arches, Canyonlands, and even escaped the heat for a bit up in the nearby La Sal Mountains. Coming from the land of blues and greens, I was completely mesmerized by the intense colors of the Southwest. Amazing forms and textures seemed to await around every corner.

    It seemed like a palette tailor made for me– washed out pinks and turquoises mixed with warm earthy oranges and umber tinted lavenders. I swear if it weren’t so hot and if there was more water, I could live there.

    After Moab, we headed to Ouray, Colorado, a place that’s held my hubby’s fascination for a long time. Years ago he read a book in which the main character spends time in Ouray and he’s been longing to see it ever since. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! He was looking up real estate with the first few hours we were there (though we quickly came back to WA as our choice for a permanent home, it was fun to dream of a different place!).

    looking down on ouray from the perimeter trail

    We would loved to have spent more time hiking around Ouray, but had camping reservations at Ghost Ranch so on to New Mexico we went..

    Our stay at Ghost Ranch was probably the most relaxing, vacation-like time of the entire trip. Located in tiny Abiquiu, NM, the ranch is remote and quiet– far from the busyness of Santa Fe and Taos, we immediately relaxed upon arrival. It was where we read the most, looked at our phones the least, listened to the sounds of the faraway coyotes, and star gazed before bed each night.

    In writing this post, I realized there is so much to share that to avoid boring you to tears, I’m breaking it up into several installments! You’re welcome. 😉

    I’ll write another general post about the rest of our trip and then separate posts about the O’Keeffe Abiquiu House Tour & Ghost Ranch Landscape Tour— I highly recommend both and will get into more detail in that post. I’m also planning to share what about the Southwest inspired me artistically and how, probably more for my own benefit than yours, but hope you’ll enjoy anyway!

    More to come!

    All images by me.

  • Showing. New stuff in Greenville!

    Showing. New stuff in Greenville!

    Art & Light, my representing gallery in Greenville, SC, is celebrating 12 years this week!! In celebration, I created two new paintings from my LEMOLO series for their Anniversary Show, opening tonight, August 16th.

    dreams and intentions, acrylic on canvas, 20x20x1.5, $350

    whispering secrets, acrylic on canvas, 20x20x1.5, $350 

    When creating these new LEMOLO pieces, I was thinking about the lovely days I’ve spent in North and South Carolina, places that will always hold a special place in my heart, Southern girl that I am. I also tried to channel the warmth of the light and atmosphere that is present at Art & Light— housed in a beautiful old house in Greenville’s historic “Village”, the gallery is fresh and modern while also feeling rustic and worn and welcoming. An absolutely enchanting combination!

    In addition to the new LEMOLO paintings, there is also a brand new crop of watercolors on panel and canvas that I’m super excited to debut at A&L!

    You can check out the entire collection of watercolors on my website or if you’re in the Greenville area, I hope you’ll stop by Art & Light for the opening of the Anniversary show tonight from 6- 8pm!

    Art & Light is located at 16 Aiken St, Greenville, SC. You can contact the gallery by calling 864-625-0695 or emailing art@artandlightgallery.com!

    Bottom image courtesy of Art & Light Gallery.

     

  • Living. Camano Island.

    Living. Camano Island.

    We’ve been here 5 months. We’ll be here at least 3 more. We visited Camano Island for the first time on a drizzly Saturday in 2016 and honestly, we weren’t terribly impressed.  I mean, it was pretty, as almost all of the Pacific Northwest is, but it didn’t blow us away. But when hubby took a contract doing home health out of Everett, WA and we were faced with the choice of a little apartment on the water on Camano vs. a little, more expensive apartment in Everett, we decided to give it another shot.

    And boy are we glad we did.

    These past months have been filled with beach walks, whale sightings from our living room (!!!), watching for bald eagles and sea lions, glorious sunrises and sunsets, and more fresh crab than we’ve ever had in our lives. (thank you, kind & generous landlords!)

    There has been so much to inspire me artistically that I can’t paint fast enough to get it all out.

    I’ve filled an entire Moleskine watercolor sketchbook with seaside inspired abstract sketches and used that as inspiration to create a special series of large watercolors on canvas inspired by Camano.

    We’ve been here long enough to watch Spring emerge and fade, and Summer is now in all its glory.

    I can’t wait to see what Fall brings as the seasonal houses close up and everything goes quiet again.

    You can see more from our life on Camano by following my Instagram stories where I post tidbits of what I’m seeing around me daily.

    All images by me.

     

     

  • Showing. BIG Watercolors in Seattle!

    Showing. BIG Watercolors in Seattle!

    You guys, I’m sorry. I’ve been so neglectful of this space lately! I won’t pepper you with excuses.. we are all busy, right? Keeping up with blogging just keeps getting pushed down the ol’ To-Do list as things come up.

    The things coming up have all been good, though! And I miss sharing more in depth here. So I’m going to try more, truly I am.

    You may remember that ever since experimenting with watercolor for The 100 Day Project back in 2016, I’ve been trying out bigger sizes and different substrates. I hadn’t quite hit on that perfect combo.. until now!

    rhodies, watercolor on canvas, 30×30, $750

    When I heard the lovely folks at Lindsey Runyon Design wanted me to be a Featured Artist in their showroom, specifically requesting watercolors, I saw it as my opportunity to go big in watercolor. But due to the hanging limitations of their space, and that I would be installing on my own, I needed to go big AND light. I’ve done some experimenting with watercolor on canvas in the past, but hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it..  Until now!

    Clemantis by Lesley Frenz

    clemantis, watercolor on canvas, 30×48, $1200

    A few coats of watercolor ground added to gessoed canvas creates the perfect surface for watercolors– the paint blends and bleeds beautifully (and easily, requiring a delicate touch!). Once dry, the paintings are sealed first with multiple coats of fixative and then with two coats of UV spray varnish to make sure the surface becomes permanent and impermeable. No glass needed!

    watercolors on canvas showing at Lindsey Runyon Design

    You can check out all of these new watercolors on canvas online on my website .  If you are in the Seattle area anytime now through November 16th, you can stop by LRD in downtown Seattle (near the Space Needle!) to see these beauties in person.

    Lindsey Runyon Design is located at 222 Queen Anne Ave N, Ground Floor, Seattle, WA 98109.
    Their phone # is 206-914-5241 or you can email chloe@lindseyrunyondesign.com for info and directions.

    If you make it to see the paintings, snap a photo and tag @lesleyfrenz on Instagram! And if you’d like more information about these or any of my available work, please email via my website Contact form.

    All images by me.