A Return to Painting

After doing mostly collage for a few years, I have taken a turn to painting again. Although I love the effect of the collage, painting provides me with agility and fluidity that I have come to miss. When I wish to alter or change a piece, a simple swipe of the brush and it is done.
With paint I am working hard on developing richness and depth, and expand upon the chiaroscuro effects so integral to the famous film noir aesthetic.  

©lesliepetersonsapp The Knave of Swords 30x20

The Knave of Swords started as a drawing, which I transferred onto a dark blue ground and went to work. He emerged fully formed, like Athena from Zeus' skull.⁠
⁠It is a wonderment to me that during this time of increased awareness of the plight of Asian Americans, and during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month that my latest male figure should arrive in the form of a sexy, bad-ass Asian man.⁠

©lesliepetersonsapp Queen of Diamonds 30x20

With this new beauty, I felt inspired to make a painting with a woman playing cards with us, the viewer, and at the same time doling out our fate. A real woman, and a quasi-super-natural element of fate at the same time. The question was, which suit should I make her? Which suit would pack the most amount of symbolic punch?

I solved it by creating an engaging online poll in my social media communities, asking my fans to vote on which suit, hearts or diamonds would best represent my newest femme fatale. The Queen of Hearts got a good showing, The Queen of Diamonds was the undisputed winner. 

To learn more about the unexpectedly complicated decision about which suit to choose, I have written an interesting blogpost about it, entitled When a Card Isn’t Just a Card:  A Lesson in a Lexicon of Racism

If you are interested in witnessing the blow-by-blow, non-stop action of what it takes to create an artpiece, you can follow me on social media: 

Instagram

Facebook

Even Twitter

In this short video, you can watch me paint the diamond on this card of Fate!