LESLIE PETERSON SAPP
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An Artist Who Inspires- Paul Gauguin

7/11/2022

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Paul Gauguin. A giant of the art world, to the extent where one hardly thinks of him at all.

Like Degas' dancers and VanGogh's sunflowers, Gauguin is ubiquitous in popular culture to the extent that his work, and what it has to teach us, isn’t given the respect it deserves by some "serious" artists.

But truthfully, I return to him again and again.
Here, while painting a piece called "Look Out", I had my trusty Gauguin book, laying on the floor beside my easel, so I could catch it out of the corner of my eye as I worked.


The issue? I needed permission to make my figure orange. It's okay to paint orange skin.

Gauguin has shown me so.

Skin painted with orange, green, and blue- not just variations of pink and brown I seem to regulate myself to.

Skin tone. Let's talk about skin tone.


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Look Out- work in progress ©lesliepetersonsapp
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Gauguin, Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), 1892


Gauguin is well known for the paintings he did while living in  Tahiti, and for his sensual depictions of the people he encountered there. He is considered to be one of the first Primitivists in art.

Primitivism is an art movement that was developed along with European colonialization.


The art of non-European lands came to influence and educate the artists in Europe and led to exciting new forms of abstraction, such as geometric designs, exaggerated body proportions and stark contrasts. It is part of what makes Modern Art and Post-Impressionism so beautiful and engaging.

But unfortunately, it didn’t just stop with what non-European art could teach them.

It also included a Eurocentric romanticization of a contrived and idealized “past” in which humans were in “harmony” with nature, and expressive of our “natural” drives and desires. Instead of seeing these other cultures on their own terms, they were viewed through a European lens, and reflected back on what it meant to be Europea
n.
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Gauguin, Pape Moe (Mysterious Water) 1893
It seems funny to me that I found myself looking at paintings of Tahitians to get the tone I am looking for in my painting- unless, of course, the man in Look Out is Tahitian.
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Gauguin, Self-portrait with Manao Tupapau, 1893

The license Gauguin took in his use of color isn’t just about how he depicted figures. His expressionistic use of color pervades all objects and landscapes. Yellow skies and red soils abound.

Using color in unconventional ways is universal in his work, no matter if the scene is in Tahiti, or France, no matter who the subject was.





Looking at a Gauguin is an “embarrassment of riches” when it comes to what one can learn and be influenced by.

In fact, how he compositions his images, and how he simplifies shapes has had more of an impact on my work than his use of color.

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Gauguin, The White Horse, 1898
But, being influenced by Gauguin’s bold use of color helps me stretch my comfort level and key up my palette when needed.
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Gauguin, Vision After the Sermon, 1888
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Gauguin, Breton Woman in Prayer 1894
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Gauguin, The Cellist (Portrait of Fritz Scheklud) 1894
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Gauguin, Maneo Tupapau (The Spirit of the Dead Watching) 1892
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From Venus to the Pin-Up: A History of "Boudoir" Paintings

5/7/2022

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Warning: this post has pictures of bare-naked ladies.


My newest piece, Boudoir II, may be called something of a "boudoir painting"- a bit of campy fun for me. I find myself drawn to appropriating and playing with traditional forms of displaying the female form. ⁠
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©lesliepetersonsapp Boudoir II 40x48 Acrylic, charcoal, and collage on panel

What is a boudoir painting?⁠
It is a painting of an object of desire, for the purposes of private viewing, rather that public display. In other words, for the bedroom, not the drawing room.

However prurient the motivations creating and owning such art may have been, boudoir painting has an august history, and are often considered to be some of the worlds greatest works of art.

The examples of boudoir paintings shown below differ from Boudoir II in one important way: my lady has got clothes on. But what it does have in common with them are: a prominent female figure, who usually addresses the viewer directly, in an intimate setting, that includes props that infer meaning. ⁠The trappings and props create a narrative, and often, the artworks raison d'etre.
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Titian, "Danae" 1554
In this example, Titian depicts a reclining nude woman. Very erotic, but you may notice the odd "golden shower" descending upon her from above. It depicts the Greek myth of Danae, who is visited by Zeus in the form of a golden rain. Accoutrements such as these legitimized the painting of erotic subjects.

In this Titian, there is a similar pose, but this time he ditches the mythology. Yet, there is still some allegory- or is there? Debates are ongoing. Why are her servants looking in a clothes chest in the background? Does the little dog signify fidelity?
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Titian "Venus Of Urbino" (1538)⁠
At any rate, the inclusion of "Venus" in the title provides the necessary bona fides that made this an acceptable work to own. 

"Orientalism" is another way that western painters could legitimize depicting the female nude. Imperialism and colonialism created a blank canvas upon which a European artist could depict sensuality not permitted by polite society in Europe.

Grand Odalisque by Ingres ⁠is one of the most famous examples of this.
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Ingres "Grand Odalisque" (1814)⁠
Interesting fact: the word "Odalisque" means an enslaved woman, or a concubine in a harem. It's French, derived from the Turkish word, odalık, which derived from the word oda, meaning "room". As in, you can't leave your room.

Then things started to get really interesting.

In 1865, Edward Manet painted "Olympia". It was transparently referring to The Venus of Urbino, shown above, but with oppositional elements. It was shocking to society at the time, not because she was naked, but because of her frank, direct gaze, and accoutrements that indicated she was a prostitute, not a goddess or an exotic "other". She is depicted as a woman in charge of her sexuality, not a receptive, docile plaything. (An interesting and related subject is the difference between "nude" and "naked" in traditional art- but that is for another blog post!)
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Manet "Olympia" 1865
Though the veil may have been ripped off the pretense of female nudity, the racist depiction of her black maid, who literally disappears into the background, was entirely conventional.

For some interesting background about both of the models in this painting, go to these articles: Victorine Meurent and Laure.

Just to give you an idea of what was "acceptable" female nudity during that time, check out this painting by Alexandre Cabanel in 1863. Venus is born, complete with tiny cherubs! (A far cry from the original, formidable Eros!)
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Alexandre Cabanel, "Birth of Venus" 1863

As time went on, the ability to mass produce imagery developed, so the  boudoir picture moved from the salons of the privileged few to the Everyman. Depictions of nudity, and specifically female nudity, became more and more acceptable in fine art and in popular culture.
Most everyone is familiar with the pin-up girl. This is a classic example done by the quintessential pin-up artist Alberto Vargas in 1945.

The pin-up had a particular combination of innocence and sexual knowingness that makes this genre particularly unique, and makes it popular even to this day. The aesthetic of the pin-up girl has been co-opted by women as a form of creative self expression and, ironically, healthy body image. The stagey pretense and the playfulness makes it a popular medium for female expression.
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For a great example of this, check out Vixen Pin Up Photography, whose tag-line is "Be the Girl of Your Dreams"

In 1975, Laura Mulvey, feminist film and culture critic coined the phrase "The Male Gaze" to unpack the phenomena of the preponderance of female nudes in visual culture.

In the 1970's, Sylvia Sleigh turned it all on its head by painting men, nude, in vaguely "orientialist" settings, to evoke traditional odalisque paintings. ⁠
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Sylvia Sleigh "Phillip Golub Reclining" (1971)⁠
In 1985, an anonymous group of female artists called The Guerrilla Girls formed to fight sexism and racism within the art world.
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I remember seeing their posters around Manhattan when I was in college, of course, not understanding or appreciating what it really meant, or how it applied to me.
I did a bit of appropriating myself in 2017, using the  Grand Odalisque to depict the goddess Circe in my Man of Many Wiles show at Gallery 114. Back to the good old goddess days, only this time, she uses her powers to turn men into pigs.
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©lesliepetersonsapp Circe of the Lovely Braids 10x18

So, what does this all mean? I don't pretend to be particularly enlightened when it comes to feminism and art. I am still very beholden to The Male Gaze myself. But part of being an artist is following where our inspiration leads us. My relationship to sexualized images of women is an inexorable part of who I am. The question is, what do I do with it? How does it reflect my individuality? Does it resonate with others, and if so, how?
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In light of this, I recently purchased Pin-Up Grrrls: Feminism, Sexuality, Popular Culture by Maria Elena Buszek.


Stay Tuned.

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True Confession! I'm in Love With Archeology.

4/6/2022

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Yes, I love archeology and ancient history. 
 
 
Whenever I want to relax, I turn on the Science Channel to watch Unearthed, or Mysteries of the Abandoned.
 
I have two magazine subscriptions (Archaeological Institute of America, and Current World Archeology) and look forward to them like a kid waiting for his Captain Midnight Secret Decoder Ring to arrive in the mail.  

On my last vacation I brought books to read and some drawing materials. One book in particular grabbed me and wouldn't let go; The Sutton Hoo Story by Martin Carver. I felt moved to produce drawings inspired by what I learned and saw.  

I find myself so fascinated by archeology that, at some point, I may create an entirely new body of work. It's all very speculative, but it is very exciting for me, and I wanted to share it now.
 
What is Sutton Hoo? ⁠
⁠

It's a burial site in England, with many types of burials, from royal barrows to gallows graveyard, dating from the 6th to 7th centuries.⁠ They appear as mounds on a flat landscape, next to the River Deben. There is a really great movie based on a novel, both called The Dig that dramatizes the excavation of Mound 1, where some of the most impressive and beautiful artifacts ever found in Britain were discovered.
 
But while I like jewels and treasures, it is the dirt and bones that really intrigue me. 
⁠
My first endeavor was a pencil sketch of the remains in burial Mound 17.   ⁠
 
Mound 17 was an un-looted burial mound whose inhabitant was buried in a tree trunk coffin (how COOL is that?) sometime between 560-650 AD. Among other things, there were caldrons, weapons, a comb, and the remains of a bridle. In another mound close by, his horse was interred, along with a bucket of oats.
 
My next sketch was of another, very different type of grave. 
 
After the region had converted to Christianity, this sacred ground, populated with rich burial mounds for esteemed community leaders, was used as a place to execute convicted criminals. A gallows was erected on one of the mounds, and the site is littered with shallow graves of the disgraced and condemned.
 
But the thing that makes it all the more more fascinating, is that there is actually no body there at all. The acidic soil of the area consumes organic material.
 
 
But the body that was once there changes the make-up of the soil, making it dark and crusty. When someone excavates it, they can carefully remove the soil around where the body once was, leaving a fragile "sand man". 
 
It's sad, it's haunting and it's beautiful.
The last piece I produced is a pencil sketch of an idea I have brewing in the back of my brain. My impulse is to layer, somehow, images and inspirations from digs. I would like to create drawings of the finds, and layer them with schematic diagrams and maps, along with my imagined scenarios of the people and objects when they were alive and in use. I may need to learn a new medium, such as encaustic, to gain the effect I want.
 
This is a rough idea of what I might do. It is a composite image of things from the famous Mound 1. Below the sketch are images from the book that I have woven into the sketch.
Mound 1 was covering a large ship. Within the hull of the ship there was a wooden burial chamber, containing a coffin and body, and many stunningly valuable grave goods. It is one of the most famous archeological finds in history.
But, like the "sand men", the actual ship, chamber, and body have long since dissolved. But the wood of the ships hull, again, changed the make up of the sand, and what was left was a ghostly impression of a ship, along with the corroded iron rivets, in long, graceful, curving lines.
 
This is a photograph of Basil Brown, standing in the middle of the ship. He was the self-taught archeologist who excavated the un-looted grave in 1938. 
 
The second image is a schematic drawing archeologists have made, depicting what they believe the original burial chamber within the ship contained.
 
 

The third image is a schematic map of the area, with black dots depicting the location of various burial mounds, and the three hypothetical routes by which the mourners transported the ship from the River Deben, up the bank, to the burial site, to inter the deceased.
 
I'm really not sure where this is headed. It's very exciting and a little scary. 
 
I will continue with my current series of art based on film noir until it feels right to commence on this new path. 
 
Maybe I never will get to it, or maybe I will start next week.
 
Stay tuned.
⁠


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An Artist Who Inspires- Arvie Smith

2/17/2022

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Arvie Smith (born 1938) is a nationally recognized African American painter based in my hometown of Portland, Oregon.

Arvie Smith, Ease on Down the Road, 30x22

There is a nice little bio of him here on the Hallie Ford Museum website, where he is having an exhibition from January 22- March 26th, 2022.

Smith's work is so, so, so many things. 


Arvie Smith, Dem Golden Slippers, 2007 68x68
Some words I think of when seeing his work:

Arvie Smith, Steppin' Out, 30x22

Beautiful

Sad

Ironic

Tragic

Funny

Sensual

Alive

Courageous 

Sharp

Glorious   

 

 

The figures in his paintings shift from being vivid individuals, to embodying biting racist tropes, and back again.  He celebrates Black culture and tradition, and in the same image crams racist symbols from the larger, white dominated culture. These images live side by side in the same painting, which is what I imagine it may be like for African Americans every day, all day long.

Arvie Smith BestMan 2016 72x60
As a "nice white lady" my impulse is to avert my eyes from the ugly racist images, and yet, Arvie Smith's paintings are just so gorgeous, so funny and alive, I cannot help but bask in them. I must look and look and look. 

Arvie Smith, Honkie Tonk, 68x78 2015

Seeing these paintings on your tiny phone or desk top will in no way indicate what it is like to see them in person. They fairly leap off the wall at you, and they seem to pulse with color and light. 

His website is here:www.arviesmith.com

Arvie Smith Scare Crow 2016 60x48

Arvie Smith, Trial of Tears 68x60

Arvie Smith 68x60 diptic right



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Pursuit

2/17/2022

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She glances out the back window at a waiting yellow taxi. Who is it that pursues her and why?

©lesliepetersonsapp Pursuit 24x48
Scenes of women in trouble is very touchy. I do not want to perpetuate stereotypes of helplessness. I always want to make it seem like she has agency. Though there may be danger, you get the feeling she has a good chance of pulling through and landing on her feet!

This is a piece that went through many changes. Originally I had multiple people in the street scene as if there where a bunch of people milling around. But as things developed I could see the figures were just a distraction from the real drama. I even considered taking out the figure near the door and just leaving the car- I still don’t know if I made the right choice. Don’t be surprised if you see another version of this one. (I often feel compelled to do certain images again and again.) 

This one was just really fun. I loved working with the street light creating a cone of a lighter color. The back window of her vehicle creates a frame within a frame, and the dark color flows into her silhouetted profile and the buildings on the street. I tried to make a contrast with the bright yellow, the cool watercolor blues, and the flat dark brown/black.

Keep your eye open for a woodcut version of this piece!


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Incognito

12/9/2021

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©lesliepetersonsapp Incogito 10x8 Acrylic on panel
A voluptuous, glamorous woman leans against the doorframe, silhouetted by the bathroom light. Over her shoulder we see, hanging on the shower curtain rod, a maid’s uniform. 

In conversation about classic film noir, a common subject is that actors and actresses of color were relegated into narrow stereotyped roles, often as domestic servants of white protagonists. But of course, this didn’t just happen in the movies, it happened in real life, too. African Americans had limited opportunities and were often employed as domestics in white households. What individuality was denied or hidden?


I see a dynamic, powerful, sexy woman who has to masquerade as a demure, uniformed domestic by day- but who knows what mischief or adventures she may be involved in after hours.

And... who knows what she may know about her employers…?

 


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An Artist Who Inspires- Marc Chagall

12/5/2021

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Today is the last day of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. In celebration of this, I am featuring Marc Chagall.

Marc Chagall The Birthday 1915
 Marc Chagall is one of the twentieth century’s most famous artists, and probably the most famous artist that is associated with being Jewish. He is considered a Modernist, a Cubist, a Symbolist, a Fauvist, and sometimes “Naïve” painter, who is also well known for his stained glass windows.

Marc Chagall I and the Village 1911
He was born in 1887 in Belarus, and migrated to France in 1910. He escaped Nazi persecution to the US in 1941, returning to France in 1948, where he lived the rest of his very long life, dying in 1985. 


Marc Chagall The Fiddler 1913
 
His subject matter is wide and free-wheeling, and although he was not a practicing Jew, he wove images of the memories of his Hasidic upbringing in Belarus when he was young.

Marc Chagall Solitude 1933
 I am inspired by Chagall’s work and sometimes wish I could break up space with such aplomb. 

 

I love the air of mystery, sadness, joy, romance and spiritualism that his work combines. Maybe someday I will get there, too!

Aleko and-His Wife Zemphira from an Old Russian Tale

Marc Chagall Blue Village 1975

Marc Chagall The Circus 1964


 

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My Vacation From the "Shoulds"

11/15/2021

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I'm on vacation, and I'm having a wonderful time. It's a paradise. Beautiful room, white sand beach, gorgeous view. 


And yet, I find myself having a difficult time relaxing entirely. I'm relaxing, but not completely relaxed. I find that I am suffering from a case of the "Shoulds".

Here are a list of my "Shoulds":

- I really need to take advantage of my time here!

- I should make a drawing or painting everyday.

- I should keep posting and staying engaged on social media.

- I should NOT post, and disengage completely.

- I should go I to a deep state of contemplation so I can start developing concepts and imagery for my next body of work.

- I should start collecting words and images for my next body of work.

- I should do paintings of the coastline so I can include coastal scenes in my next body of work.

- Furthermore, I should barely eat anything, so I will still feel okay in my bathing suit.

- I should drink less/more.

- I should swim in the ocean. 

- I should go for a hike/sample authentic local cuisine/learn to paddleboard...

Get the idea? So much to ponder and worry about.

I heard a while back that the word "should" can be very toxic. It is a good exercise to replace it with the word "want" and see what happens.

Actually, I have done a number of my "Shoulds", because they seemed like fun at the time.

But what have I done mostly? 

Mostly, I have gone on a deep dive into some really nerdy books on archeology. 

Yes, archeology is my way to relax. 

- I have two magazine subscriptions (World Archeology and The American Institute of Archeology Magazine).

- I am a fan of Patrick Wyman's podcast, Tides of History

- I watch archeology themed shows on TV and YouTube incessantly. (My favorite, which is not exactly about archeology, is Mysteries of the Abandoned on Discovery) 

So I'm on a geek-fest, learning about how the Proto-Indo-European language, a theoretical language that became extinct around 2500 BCE, was the root from which most of the languages spoken in the world today evolved from. 

What can I say? It's what I want to do.


A bibliography of my vacation:

Three Stones Make a Wall, by Eric H. Cline

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language, by David W. Anthony

Tales of Valhalla, by Martin and Hannah Whittock 

Beowulf, translation by Seamus Heaney

The Dig, by John Preston

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An Artist Who Inspires- Vilhelm Hammershøi

10/21/2021

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There is something so very intriguing and mysterious about viewing someone’s back.


A lot of images in my art depict people’s backs. 

First of all, they are interesting visually, because they are the least body-like body-part. They are like a wall, or a blank page. There is an inherent tension created by being in someone’s presence, yet not being able to discern their expression, like they have closed eyes, or are wearing a mask. 

I recently found a postcard I have had for years. Before the internet, anytime I went to a museum, I would buy a slew of postcards to take home with me, because collecting images didn’t just happen with the click of a button.

This postcard says it was produced by The Louvre. This means I bought it around 1998. I’ve had it in my possession ever since. I was drawn to its elegance, simplicity and mystery.


Vilhelm Hammershøi was born in 1864 in Copenhagen, Denmark. His style is distinctive and consistent. His landscape are muted and empty, and even when he painted citiscapes, he found an unusual point of view to express an atmosphere of mystery. But he is best known for his interiors, and the multiple depictions of people’s backs, particularly the nape of a woman’s nape neck.
 

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Rest

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Ida Sitting and Reading

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Interior

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Bedroom

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Ida, Interior with a White Chair

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Figures By the Window

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The Saga of "Exit"

9/11/2021

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It came from Out of the Past-  from 1947, to be exact. This scene from the famous film noir inspired images in my head that I couldn't shake.

 

 

So, in April 2021, I took a video of myself in costume walking down the stairs. Then I created a large drawing from that video. From that I developed a painting... But, like many worthwhile endeavors in life, there were twists, turns, and backtracks along the way.


I love working off of colored, textured grounds. So, in early May, I got off to an interesting start by using purple watercolor and allowing it to drip down the panel.


I sized the image of the drawing in photoshop, printed it out on sheets of paper, and transferred a light image of it onto a panel. Then, using the drawing and the photographs as a reference, I started the painting.



I spent a bunch of time creating a wood grain effect on the stairs, thinking the reddish tone would enhance my purple shadows.

It became clear that something was missing. Something needed to be in the upper left of the composition... I searched about on line and found this awesome exit sign. (Here the name of the painting came into being.)

 

I also "closed up" the space, by making sure all walls, stairs and shadows were touching each other, enclosing the figure in with no way to "escape".

Break time.

This all happened from early May to late June. I set Exit aside. I worked on other projects, such as The Hanged Man and Watch.  



There may have been a beach trip or two as well...




 

 

All the while, I kept looking at Exit out of the corner of my eye... June ended... July ran its course... 

I kept thinking... this could be better. 

It's flat.

It doesn't have the glossy dark depth I had envisioned...

It needs...       blue.


Here I am, paintbrush in mouth, glazing a layer of Prussian blue over my painting. 

I also repainted the exit sign and made it larger. 

I changed her shoes from black to white. 

I even painted over the precious wood grain stairs I had worked so hard on.

Then, after all this, I realized the exit sign was no longer needed. In fact, it had become a distraction. Now that I had all my moody blues creating atmosphere, I wanted the woman to be the focus, as if a spotlight were shining on her. So, using a razor blade, I scratched it out. 

But what about my awesome exit sign? Would I have to change the title of my painting?

With a tiny scrap of red paper and a bit of tape, I was able to see where to put my lovely vintage exit sign.



As I write this, the exit sign has been redone for a FORTH time- ⁠
⁠
Will this be my final move? Is the saga of Exit over once and for all???⁠
 

Finally, finally, I believe it is done. It started in May, and ran off and on until September.

©lesliepetersonsapp Exit

We live in a world of expediency, instant gratification and digital wizardry. But along the way, there has been a growing appreciation of the slow. For example, slow foods, artisanal cheese, vintage wine, and hand-made crafts are all important social and financial movements. 

By sharing the process of my art, I hope to celebrate the slow and deliberate. Just like life, many artistic pursuits take a long and winding road. Part of what makes art, art, is that the artist takes the time to follow that road wherever it leads.

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