Clouds Archives - Leichsenring Studios

New Year 2024 : It’s a new year with new challenges at the Masonic Lodge Project

by Sharon Leichsenring· January 02, 2024· in Artwork, Ceiling, Clouds, Columns, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

It’s been three months since my last newsletter. I have conquered my fear of driving across the Tappan Zee Bridge since it’s part of my commute since this past August. I’ve wrapped up what we call Phase 1 at the Masonic Lodge project, that being the sky tray, eight columns and connecting ornament around the entire ceiling edge. And it would be an understatement to say I’m pleased with the results. I was honored to be trusted with this commission and though I was confident it would be successful, it has exceeded my expectations. You will have to take my word that pictures don’t do it justice. I’ve had the sincere delight to watch my husband and friends JoAnn and Jack walk into the space for the first time since completion. Their jaws just dropped. JoAnn took this picture ) two days before completion so you’ll see a tiny bit missing. I think this shows you the enormity of the room (36’x 62’ x16’). So a quick recap. This is the space as I first saw it. The directive: change this space with paint to resemble a classic approach to the Temple of Solomon at this Masonic Lodge in Park Ridge, […]
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My project at the Masonic Lodge

by Sharon Leichsenring· September 28, 2023· in Artwork, Ceiling, Clouds, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

It’s been a while since my last newsletter. I wanted to have enough progress to share, and I certainly do. To recap, I started this project on site in August. I am painting a very large space in a Masonic Lodge in northern New Jersey. Using trompe l’oeil ( French term meaning “fool the eye” using light and shadow to make a two-dimensional space look three dimensional) , I am creating the Temple of Solomon. The space is 36’ by 62’ with 16’ high ceilings. I am just about done with the tray in the ceiling. Here’s what my sample looked like. I agonized for a bit, trying to figure out how I would get this tray laid out on the ceiling by myself. I had to avoid the light fixtures as well. Luckily, I discovered what might be one of the most remarkable tools in my arsenal, a Bosch 3-plane laser. It allowed me to measure easily on the floor and the laser sends out a line that travels around the space in two directions. Crazy. The line can be up to 200’ long so it shoots out straight, up the wall, across the ceiling and back to […]
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Be Careful What You Wish For

by Sharon Leichsenring· July 06, 2023· in Artwork, Birds, Ceiling, Clouds, Columns, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

I am at a loss for words. Well, almost. I am excited to share the beginning of a new project with you. It’s huge in scope for me. I was contacted recently about the possibility of painting a ceiling in a Masonic Lodge in north New Jersey, a little over an hour from home. So, distance-wise, doable. And not just the ceiling. There are four shallow projections on two sides of the space. Make those into columns. Ermmmm…..Ok. So how big is the space? Wait for it. It measures 33’4” wide by 61’6”. That’s 2200 square feet. It’s 16’ tall. We’d like you to come up with a concept to make the space look like a temple, open to the sky. The sky, by the way, will travel from dawn to night. Let’s take a look. The picture you are seeing shows about half of the room. I’m not one to say no to a challenge and this one is not going to scare me away. In fact, less than ten minutes into the discussion, I could see the design in my mind’s eye. And you might be asking, how do I share that with a client. I’m a huge […]
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In the words of Dr. Seuss “Oh! The Places You’ll Go!”

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 27, 2023· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Bas Relief, Brick Treatments, Ceiling, Clouds, Dome, Murals· 0 comments

Was he speaking directly to me, the esteemed Dr. Seuss? Would the poem provide answers to the absolute gut-wrenching reaction I used to have when contemplating a project where I’d spend days on ladders? And the bad reaction only began with ladders. There were scaffolds to climb and scissor lifts to navigate. Seems the love of painting was and continues to be greater than the fear. If you shudder at the idea of heights, tag along with me through a few of my challenges. First check out this barrel ceiling. Here is the space during construction. It’s good you can’t see my face as you’re reading. I really had to work hard keeping the panic in place. However, and it still amazes me every time, once I have that stern talk with myself and start painting, the fear truly dissipates. Got my backer’s scaffold in place and commenced painting this ceiling, grid method, square by square. This next project was a cloud dome that was over an inside pool. Look at the support structure to hold the dance floor that would span over the approximately 28’ wide pool. Once I climbed through the trap door onto the dance floor, I was […]
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Yep, I have a digital hoarding problem

by Sharon Leichsenring· January 31, 2023· in Artwork, Ceiling, Childrens, Clouds, Furniture, Trees· 0 comments

I’ve been writing my monthly newsletters for almost 14 years now. You can find most of them if you’re so inclined under the PROJECTS tab on my website. A thank you here to Pat Marlin of Business Technology Solutions. I write the copy, choose the photos, and she -with great patience and my dancing close to deadlines-makes the technical magic happen. I admit, I find the digital tasks daunting and I make things difficult because I have way too many pictures, and they are filed in a most abominably illogical pattern, most of which I try to keep organized in my head. So, it’s time to write February’s newsletter, and though I’ve been busy, there’s no one interesting project to share. There’s been a great deal of sketching, sample making, and frankly, some just plain boring work. What to write about? I decided to start cleaning through this huge file called “ mystuff” (can’t make this up) and found pictures of a really early project that predated my newsletters. Just the thing to share with you. It’s important to me for a number of reasons. Here’s the first. Check out my hands. What you might notice is that my right thumb […]
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Once Upon A Time in Bristol, CT

by Sharon Leichsenring· October 31, 2022· in Artwork, Clouds, Historic, Trees, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

What a ride (taxi cab!) this painting commission has been. I was contacted by the owners of a magnificent building in the somewhat sleepy town of Bristol in Connecticut. I would soon see that what is a town that has escaped the noise of big cities by being located away from major interstates, was in fact, a bustling commercial city in the early 1900s. At that time, it was considered one of the premier clock-making cities in the United States. I’ll try to keep the background brief. If you get curious, google New Departure Mfg. Co. Bristol CT. A business started by the Rockwell Brothers (the Rockwell Company) would become known as New Departure Manufacturing Company. Not content with their successful cycling venture, they drew up plans for an automobile. The first was produced in 1904. The Roxwell Taxi rolled out of the Bristol plant. Check out this ad So the current owners of the building, my client, had an image of a hand colored photo from about the same time. There was no way to enlarge much bigger than a sheet of paper without the image pixelating. And, that dear readers, is my cue to enter the picture. We arrived at a […]
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Take Me Out To The Ballgame

by Sharon Leichsenring· May 31, 2022· in Artwork, Childrens, Clouds, Murals· 0 comments

I’m struggling for a way to approach this with a little humility, but now that it’s done, I’ve got to say, it takes my breath away. So…let’s start at the beginning of the second mural in a child’s bedroom, that connects to the baseball locker I shared last month. My client was looking for a mural with a tremendous amount of action at home base. Having played the position of catcher, we agreed the scene would be of the catcher tagging the runner at home plate. We both liked the idea of a more dated, vintage look so you’ll see the umpire in his black suit, the looser, baggier uniforms on the players and the ball fields and bleachers from a gentler, more simple time. The first sketches placed the mural over the bed. The space above the beds simply didn’t give us the dynamic we were looking for so we crossed to the opposite wall, where the mural could then be seen from the bed. Here’s what that wall looked like. Same advice from my client. Just ignore that door (yes there’s one more) and paint like it’s not there. Boy, did the scale change. Here’s the next two […]
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My Own Camelot

by Sharon Leichsenring· March 01, 2022· in Artwork, Clouds, Murals, Trees, Video· 0 comments

It started one night I couldn’t sleep. It was back in October. I was staring at a corner in my bedroom, an outside corner that puzzled me until I realized why. I’d painted murals around corners that turned inside a room, but this corner turned outward into a small entrance into the bedroom. How would a mural translate going from one side to another? And then there was no stopping the thinking process that had started. I’d have to paint something. Something (how selfish!) that would be just for me. Trusting my husband Hans would love whatever it might be as much as I would. Turns out, I am a very difficult client indeed. I wanted everything. I wasn’t sure. The possibilities were overwhelming until I got a request from someone who had seen a mural I’d done years ago, that was a border of acanthus leaves. (I do hate to leave loose ends of a story. That request is on hold until the potential client decides she will purchase the property she’d had in mind.) But the seed was in place and I had a direction. I love painting acanthus leaves but this time I’d go one step further. The […]
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Looking Back at Looking Up

by Sharon Leichsenring· October 01, 2020· in Artisan Finish, Ceiling, Clouds, Commercial Space, Floral, Fretwork, Gold Leaf/Silver Leaf, Lettering, Mica, Murals, Textured Finishes, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

OK, I’m not proud to admit it but there is a really bad outcome when two of my personality traits collide. I easily admit to being a bit technically challenged. Less easy to admit is that when there is a task at hand that I really don’t want to do, especially something requiring computer skills, I dig my heels in and become a first class procrastinator. And now I’m dealing with the fallout. I had to get rid of my beloved laptop because I kept accumulating photos way past the point of storage capacity. So I have a new laptop with tons more storage and I’m creating clutter and chaos. No way to avoid it. I’ve been cleaning up my mess. There was a silver lining. While sorting through hundreds ( OK, thousands) of old photos, I came across ceiling projects that for the most part, I don’t think I’ve ever posted. There might be a few that have showed up on my Instagram feed, but the fun was the older projects, done before I started this newsletter. And forgive the quality of a few of the older photographs. Just saying. I didn’t have an Iphone 11 back in the […]
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A Toy Chest for Caroline

by Sharon Leichsenring· March 02, 2020· in Artwork, Childrens, Clouds, Fretwork, Furniture, Gifts, Lettering, Video· 0 comments

Let me say this: Soon to be one-year- old Caroline is a lucky little girl! The first grandchild of my client (her grandfather) will be receiving this painted toy chest, beautifully built by her grandfather, for her birthday. I met my client almost eight years ago while on a job site. I was there painting a ceiling dome; he was there doing his master carpentry magic. We’ve stayed in touch via this very newsletter you’re reading now. We started the conversation about this project with a few sketches. The requests included her name and perhaps fairies? Done. You had me at fairies. And an opportunity to create my own. Here is the beginning work. A little more refinement, and a few more fairies later, we arrived at scaled drawings approved. The chest was delivered, primed and basecoated. I just about forgot to take a picture before I started but remembered enough to catch this. I must admit, I am at my most absolute best (forgive me if that grammar is incorrect here) when I can immerse myself in the studio with such a project. To create a magical world for this little person with my own characters and as much […]
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