12/15/12

Back in Minnesota

After installing my two solo shows, one in Little Falls at the government center, and one at the Falcon National Bank in St. Cloud, I went on a vacation. My husband and I traveled to Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, and then to a paradise-level island called Roatan. It was sooooo hard to come back. I had to go on this trip to get new inspiration and resource photos. Job requirements, you understand. But now I’m back. My plans for this winter: promotion, redesigning my original website, learning, many DVD workshops and new directions for my art. Those new directions include smaller works and Jewelry on an Etsy site I’m developing, and studying figure and portrait oil painting (which I have done in acrylic and watercolor), and amassing lots of art (smaller than usual) for next year’s sales. I’m going to have a busy winter! I am also planning to be in more art fairs next summer, if I can figure out a new process of applying.

So keep this page bookmarked for new developments and meanwhile visit my real art website Leitworks Art. Above is a photo/digital art watercolor called Rio Frio Cave. (Prints available on FineArtAmerica.com) It’s based on my original photo of the Rio Frio Cave in Belize. An outrageously gorgeous place on this beautiful earth. (I now have hundreds of photos of outrageously gorgeous places.)

Buy some art! I’m having a holiday sale here. I would like to sell my larger items especially.

11/16/12

Art Crawl November 16 2012

Another fantastic St. Cloud Minnesota Art Crawl tonight — November 16th, from 5-9 pm. My artwork — 32 paintings in all — will be at the Falcon National Bank at 1010 West St. Germain in beautiful downtown St. Cloud. There will also be some other artists with their work in the atrium outside of the inside banking area. But be sure to come INSIDE the bank to see my artwork. The theme of my exhibit is Endangered and it’s about endangered animals, including humans, including coral, including everything alive on this earth. It’s all endangered by human activity, climate change, pollution, and loss of habitat. But the paintings are colorful and vibrant so these are not depressing to see at all. In fact, they are “pretty,” if I do say so myself.

Don’t miss Polar Struggle, my forlorn polar bear painting. I will have prints of a few of these paintings for sale too.

For purchase information, just email me: greatpaint @ charter (dot) net

08/27/12

Hot August Art

Time to get some new work on my blog. In fact, these paintings are done now, but the first painting is an unfinished look at “On The Beach @ Tulum”. I’ll post new finished work next.

In fact, this blog will soon be a thing of the past. I don’t have time to do two art blogs, so I will incorporate my art blog into my new Leitworks Studio website design soon. It actually might be 2-3 months from now, or much sooner, but it will be there.

I’d also like to advertise here that I’d love commissions for new work from photos: Landscapes, portraits, digital art, and web design.
I also sell photography. Check out my Flickr albums here. (link to come)

07/29/12

July Art Fair and Upcoming September Art Fair

The July Art Fair in the Gardens in St. Cloud was a success!  It was a beautiful day, my tent didn’t implode or fall down, and I made some sales, which is always the best possible outcome.

Selling an art work is not supposed to be the true goal of an artist, (and it’s not) but it’s great to have it happen when you want it to.  Here are some photos of the day.


My next art fair is Art at Rice Creek, sponsored by Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, 6666 East River Road, Fridley, Minnesota. It’s on Sunday, September 9, 10-4 pm, and I will be there with another artist, watercolor painter Deb VanderEyk. It’s in a beautiful park so stop by for more great art and more!

07/8/12

New Work


This is just a small sample of some recent work.

My next public show is an art fair in St. Cloud at the Munsinger/Clements Gardens on July 19th, from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm.  Stop by and see our work!  There will be over 50 artists there and it is a beautiful gardens setting on the Mississippi River.

 

 

06/27/12

Art Crawl, Moving, Bread and Circus Show

You can see two of my paintings in the Bread and Circus show at GRAA in downtown Little Falls, until the end of July, 2012.  (pictures to come)  They are two 12″ x 24″ very colorful acrylic paintings on panels.  One is political, the other looks like I dreamed it, and maybe I did.

The Art Crawl in June was disappointing, for many reasons. The crowds were OK, not as good as in past art crawls, and you can blame that on the weather, but the weather was actually very nice, so I don’t know what to blame it on.  There were no sales, the first time that has happened in a year.  I got lots of oooohs and ahhhhhs, and other compliments, and promises from others to get in touch later, but no one has.  The economy is quite bad in this area and it has sucked a lot of the joy out of the air, among other things.

Continue reading “Art Crawl, Moving, Bread and Circus Show” »

06/13/12

New Paintings

 

See a few more of my new paintings at the next art crawl on June 15th.  5-9 pm.  Address:  701 West St. Germain, Suite 206.

I have quite a few new paintings that I could add to this but unfortunately,  I can’t find their photos. This is the downfall of having two Macs in the house.  All the photos I need, on any given day, are on the “other” computer.  Anyway, see you at the Art Crawl this Friday night.

I took down the entry about my new studio because that fell through. I am not sure yet where I’m moving to in August, but stay tuned.

 

 

06/1/12

Moving…. but Not Far

The last art crawl was my last one in my current studio.  Leitworks Art (Leitworks Studio) will be moving to my home studio on August 1st.

My studio location was at 701 West St. Germain, St. Cloud, Minnesota, though I’m not there much anymore.  I was in the suite at the end of the hallway, #206.  My experiment is to move my art studio to my home for a year and look in the meantime for another studio.

It has not been a good location for me in many respects. This is a cautionary tale for all artists: If you are paying rent somewhere, make sure you get it it writing that you can work in some sort of positive environment at any hours of your choosing. That was not the case in the 701 building, for me. I was not able to work at night on many occasions, and that was a huge problem because that’s when I prefer to work. I was even “kicked out” of the building at 9:00 pm more than once because of the male children upstairs who wanted to bang on their drums all night or do their feedback soundchecks, or have their parties, or have their “events”, etc. and what I wanted (some peace and quiet in my studio so that I could think while I worked) was irrelevant to them. They were terrible people to have upstairs, but I had no one there who was even around enough to be on my side. The landlord was no help at all.

It was also not a great location for art crawls, as I thought it would be,  because people have to go up a lot of stairs and then pass through the crowds to get to me and my art, way at the end of the hall on the 2nd floor. Many people didn’t make it that far because the “artist” in the next studio (who has since moved) nabbed them to try to sell them her art lessons.  After a hard sales spiel, many people just turned around and left. Who would react well to an aggressive sales patch for watercolor lessons during an art crawl? It was unbelievably frustrating for me to be next door to someone who was more interested in disrupting my work, grabbing people for her own benefit during art crawls, and wasting my time with her personal problems, (which she did constantly) as though my existence there was to listen to her for hours on end. It was a ridiculous environment to try and be creative in.

It also didn’t help that the landlord was often gone on 3 week long trips out of the country.
 
I have heard that due to most of those tenants moving out (all the noisy boys upstairs in particular) and new ones moving in, it’s now a better place to work.

I was so glad to leave that environment.  After visiting the August 2012 art crawl because a friend was exhibiting in the dance studio, I have not been back. I can far more work done in my home studio and there is no one there telling me to leave at 9:00 pm.

It was insulting to me to be renting a studio in an environment where I had to constantly defend my right to be there and work. Never again. To all aspiring studio renters….. get a good landlord. That is of paramount importance. And make sure your doors have good locks.

 

Continue reading “Moving…. but Not Far” »

05/22/12

Article about WARM Show

H2Oh No Detail

Several articles have recently appeared online and in local publications about my artwork. This is one of the best.

Environmental art has a story to tell

Shelly Leitheiser’s latest exhibit, “Kinetic Connections,” is currently showing at the WARM Gallery in the Minnesota Women’s Center. Aside from being powerful commentaries about the environment, Leitheiser’s paintings in this exhibit raise questions about art and politics.

For starters, Leitheiser’s paintings tell a story. That fact in itself draws the artist into a minefield. While narrative painting was once a popular and accepted style, 20th-century modernists refused to give it legitimacy and, despite the postmodern turn in the 1970s, the debate still rages.”

Read more here.

I have to say I was flattered to read this long article about my work. It seems like I think about some of my art less than some people who see it, which is an added bonus for me.  The truth is, artists are often surprised at what people see in their art work, which is why we are loath to talk about it too much or tell people what it “means”.  It means whatever the viewer wants it to mean, because no one will ever see in it the exact same meaning or purpose I do, even if I do explain it to them.  It’s as amorphous as trying to explain a thought itself.

Continue reading “Article about WARM Show” »

05/15/12

Art A Whirl

I’ll be at Art a Whirl this year!   My location is Fitness Crossroad, which is located at 2912 Pentagon Drive, St. Anthony mall, NE Minneapolis.  The painting above is a watercolor titled, “Little Mound Lake” and you can see it in person at Art A Whirl!  Below are additional details about Art A Whirl:

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Art-A-Whirl is the largest open-studio tour in the country. It’s a great opportunity to tour private artist studios and galleries, connect with the artists, and purchase original artwork.

Art-A-Whirl takes place annually in Northeast Minneapolis, the third weekend of May. This event is free and open to the public.
DATES and HOURS:

Friday, May 18th -  5:00-10:00 p.m.
Saturday,  May 19th -  Noon-8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 20th -   Noon-5:00 p.m.
Tour more than 50 locations throughout Northeast Minneapolis, including studio buildings, art galleries, homes, storefronts, businesses, and restaurants.
Plan your visit with NEMAA’s Artist Directory and Guide, [there will be copies at Fitness Crossroad] which includes information about the NEMAA artists, a map of Northeast Minneapolis and the Art-A-Whirl locations, a dining guide, and more.

Continue reading “Art A Whirl” »

05/6/12

Whitney Center Show

12 pieces of my new and recent art work are now on display in the Sexton Gallery at the Whitney Center, 1527 Northway Dr., St. Cloud, Minnesota.  This show was installed on May 1st and is on exhibit through June 30th.  This work consists of 12 new and recent paintings in watercolor and acrylic collage, with fantasy, futuristic, and illustrative themes.  You can visit the Whitney Center from 8:00 am through 5:00 pm, M-F.  If you go:  The Sexton Gallery is past the reception area and to the left, around the corner by the piano.  Here are some photos from the shows. (Photos taken by Shelly L.)

My other current art show is currently at the Women’s Building in St. Paul, 550 Rice Street. It is a 2-person show featuring 18 of my paintings, sponsored by WARM.  Find out more at Leitworks — Events

Upcoming show: May 18, 19 and 20: Art A Whirl sponsored by NEMAA.org. I’ll be at Fitness Crossroad in the St. Anthony mall, which is an official AAW location — new this year.  Stop by and say hello!  This is a 3-day only event.