Murals Archives - Page 6 of 8 - Leichsenring Studios

Into the Woods… Yet Again

by Sharon Leichsenring· June 06, 2015· in Artwork, Columns, Commercial Space, Murals, Trees· 0 comments

Few projects have touched a special place in my heart as the ongoing “Woods” painting at Fairfield Woods Middle School. Here is what things looked like when I saw the newly renovated lobby. My drawing was approved by the PTSA and in spring of 2013 I painted the center column and was invited back last year to paint the adjacent wall. It left the opposite wall looking quite needy and this spring, I came back to complete the matching wall. This is what the proposal looked like. This is what the lobby looks like today. What makes this project so remarkable is that in the two years since I started, there is not a mark on any of the work. No chips, no scratches and indeed, no graffiti. I deliberately do the work during school hours as I love the energy the feedback from the kids gives to me. Principal Dr. Rosato is always at the helm when at dismissal, some 925 students flood through that hallway, past me painting on my ladder. It is an awesome rush! On a serious note, though the graphic elements of trees is obvious in a school called for generations “The Woods”, I know […]
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Powder Room Jewel Boxes

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 06, 2015· in Artisan Finish, Bathrooms/Powder Room, Mica, Murals, Ocean, Trees, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

Every decorative artist has a favorite place to play with paint and plaster. For me, it’s powder rooms. There’s absolutely no limit to the possibilities. They are self-contained little worlds that can relate to the rest of the home or they can shine with their own personality. Here’s one of my recent favorites. Love the boldness of the red walls. Here it is blocked out in a solid color. Now, take a look with a metal gold on the center ornament plus dynamic shadows and highlights. Here is another acanthus inspired panel. Plaster with infused mica is another route. Don’t you love the way the light dances on this single color application? Another choice is to use the plaster as an allover embossed damask stencil. A lighter shade of the plaster dazzles as the background. Here is the same finish with the bonus of a painted window with a view from the neighborhood beach. This is a true Jewel Box. The ceiling was painted with metallic gold, as were the doors and woodwork with an added coat of subtle dark brown glaze. The stencil on the band that acts as a chair rail is embossed with the […]
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A Tree Grows in Texas

by Sharon Leichsenring· February 02, 2015· in Bas Relief, Murals, Trees· 0 comments

Challenges come in all shapes and sizes. This one was huge! I’d already done several projects in this East Texas home of a dear client. We had discussed doing “something” in an oddly shaped space in the TV room. The available working space starts 10 feet off the floor and continues to a height of 24′ on one side, creating an awkward triangle some 16′ wide. What to do? What to do? It couldn’t be a simple solution like a mural. There were already several that I’d painted. It had to something special. My client Jan suggested a bas relief mural. I’d done smaller ones, but nothing of this size, and at this height. Did I mention height? The little voice in the back of my head was screaming NO! at me for just considering this. Height is usually a deal breaker, but… But. The challenge to create this piece was just too tempting. Game on. Usually I show you the finished picture first, but you need to watch this process. Here’s my scaffolding. Ready for climbing, the ladder is strapped securely to the scaffolding. Thanks to Jan’s husband Bruce for making feel so safe! Once I had drawn out […]
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Walk Away From The Wall!

by Sharon Leichsenring· November 05, 2014· in Childrens, Clouds, Dining Room, Floral, Mica, Murals· 0 comments

A few years back, I used to teach week long workshops at schools for those wanting to learn decorative painting. Subjects included painting murals, clouds, trompe l’oeil and perspective. I taught occasionally in Denver and Atlanta, but was most at home in Houston at Janie Ellis’s School of Decorative Painting at Anything But Plain. As I was scheduled there several times a year, I had the unique opportunity for me to get to know my students well. I followed their progress and got to know them well enough to appreciate some very distinct personalities. The most common problem most faced was expecting way too much of themselves during a short period of time. The mind says “Yes, I know I need to factor in years of practice” but the truth is the heart looks for perfection. Quickly, with frustration only a heartbeat away. I shared my own mantra of what to do when that happened. I tell myself to walk away from the wall. A few feet’s distance quickly puts things into perspective. An artist needs to learn when something is done. Two projects this month had me muttering to walk away from the wall, indeed. A dining room designed by […]
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Under the Weeping Cherry Tree

by Sharon Leichsenring· September 07, 2014· in Artwork, Kitchen, Murals, Stairwell, Trompe L'oeil· 0 comments

Sometimes the simple answer is the perfect answer. My client in this elegant Fairfield, Connecticut home had a section of wall that just glared, needing an solution that wouldn’t look too contrived. The wall was formed when the 12′ height of the kitchen dropped back to 8′ in the foyer and hallway. Here’s the kitchen before I started. Hanging a large painting just felt awkward. Thank you again for the always imaginative ( and superb) painter, Dino Tetu, who was on the job and suggested that I might be the solution. A discussion with the homeowner led to the direction of a painted window for the space. I noted that there were several window transoms in the home and thought the added architectural interest would look better than a big picture window. So, what to paint, what to paint? We discussed vistas that had appeal to the family (beaches were high on the list) but again, not feeling natural. As I walked through the first floor of the home, I was struck by the lovely trees I could see from every room and Voila! There is was. The painted window would just be another opportunity to view the outdoors. Here’s […]
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Into the woods…again!

by Sharon Leichsenring· June 07, 2014· in Columns, Commercial Space, Murals, Trees· 0 comments

Sometimes, I have to admit, it’s pretty good to be me. This past week working has provided another of those times. I have to revisit an earlier project to explain. Last spring, I had the distinct pleasure to be commissioned by the PTSA of Fairfield Woods Middle School (thank you again, Tausif for your continued support of this project) in Fairfield, CT. Known to most in the area as simply “The Woods”, renovations had left a stark column in the middle of the foyer. I painted a quasi impressionistic forest that wrapped the column. You can see that story by clicking here to see that project. There are other areas surrounding the column, and this year I was invited by PTSA to continue the “Woods” environment. I started out by drawing the design on a photo of the area. It’s terrific fun working while school is in session. I have had a vocal, appreciative audience of 6th, 7th and 8th graders, plus staff and teachers. Again, principal Dr. Rosato navigated traffic during the craziness of buses arriving and the massive exodus at dismissal. Nary a smudge! Here are progress pictures as I got moving along. The design grew a bit in […]
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Trees 101

by Sharon Leichsenring· December 04, 2013· in Bathrooms/Powder Room, Murals, Trees· 0 comments

This month, I tag-teamed two projects using trees as the inspiration point. The only common thing they shared was the small available area; one was an office measuring a scant 11’x8, the other a powder room coming in at 54″ x 72″. Check out the impact of many, many trees versus one. The office sits on the third floor of a 200 year old home. The client’s wish was to continue the vista provided by the single window in this cozy space. I have to admit, I fell in love with this house-you simply don’t see them anymore. There is such a sense of history. I swear you can hear it calling to you. (Oh maybe that’s just me—that explains a lot about me!) The wonderful color of the wood floor paired with the earthy palette nature provided. It was a little awkward getting use to this space. Each time I stepped off my ladder I experienced a bit of vertigo. Absolutely nothing in the room is straight. The floors tilt in one direction, the walls hove and curve in another. The window sills have relaxed about 30 degrees over the years. My level could not even register with the […]
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By The Sea…

by Sharon Leichsenring· November 10, 2013· in Murals, Ocean, Places· 0 comments

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea… The ocean’s call is irresistible to those lucky enough to have spent their childhoods within its sound. And so it was when I first got a phone call from the enormously talented interior designer, Linda Brencher of Linda Brencher Interiors of Branford, Connecticut. She was looking for someone to help realize the vision she had for the foyer of the guest cottage she was designing for her client, who happened to be a friend from childhood. Uh-oh! Another vision! I live for those words. But I was not prepared for what I found when I first saw the space. It was small, like 65″x 84″ small. And it had wainscotting up to the six foot point. And a window, and a coat closet, and the front door and the entrance to the kitchen. And a slanted ceiling! I can’t even be paying attention to my grammar right now, because I am remembering thinking this is crazy. I had one wall that was just 2 feet tall; the opposite wall rose seven feet from the molding. The remaining two sides were triangular in shape rising from the two foot mark on […]
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Into the woods

by Sharon Leichsenring· July 04, 2013· in Columns, Commercial Space, Murals, Trees· 0 comments

I recently was lucky enough to have one of those projects that are just so good for the soul. I was asked to help find a solution for a bare, structural column planted right in the middle of a middle school lobby area. Here is what it looked like. My first discussion was with the art teacher who brought me into the project (many thanks, Kristen ) after which we arrived at a direction. The school is named Fairfield Woods Middle School, and is referred to by most as simply “the Woods”. My task was to find a design that would translate around a column and keep it simple enough to “read” easily, without becoming too juvenile for the appreciation of students and staff alike. I submitted the design below, which was approved at a meeting of the PTSA . I have to admit, it’s been years since I’ve been at such a meeting, but I was delighted to be involved with this project which they were sponsoring ( and more thanks here to Tausif and the entire PTSA). Work started in prepping the ridges of the column with filler and priming and base coating it for my work. The […]
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Perfect in Pink

by Sharon Leichsenring· June 07, 2013· in Ceiling, Childrens, Murals· 0 comments

Pink is one of the special colors in my palette. I don’t use it often, but when it’s called for, nothing else will do. Let’s start with a very traditional rosy pink. This project is in an elegant dining room. The molding work is detailed and beautifully executed. The base color chosen is a very rosy pink. The first thing I did was to apply a layer of glaze in a deeper raspberry with dark brown undertones. The glazing gives a sense of depth to the work. Afterwards, the allover damask stencil was applied in a rich pink, creating a brocade effect. Honestly, the math involved was my primary concern. The space is very symmetrical and a tour of the room reveals that the stencil matches on both sides of the windows, as well as either side of the French doors and the entrance to the living room. Here is another view. I find corners and edges to be the telling points of immaculate execution. Instead of applying the paint with a stencil brush which can be slightly smudged in those areas, I choose to paint in those areas by hand. It does add extra time to the project, in […]
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