Anne Leuck 8/12/08 Anne Leuck 8/12/08

Catching up with pet portraits...

I'm way behind on my pet portrait and illustration commissions...catching up this week: Preliminary sketches above for Pippin, an Irish Jack Russell pup and Izak, a very sweet shepherd who sadly passed away this past year. I generally start by making drawings from their photos in my sketchbook, then I pick the best one, scan it and digitally clean up the lines, add the name and colors before the first presentation to my client. From their feedback I make any neccessary edits and color changes before actually painting the portrait on canvas. Here is a good link to my process, links to completed Pet Face and Narrative Scene Portraits and more info on how you can Order a Portrait of Your Pet!

Anne Leuck 8/10/08 Anne Leuck 8/10/08

Living in the shadows...

Lake Michigan 6:13-ish. It was really windy and huge waves were crashing...magnificent. I won't bore you with all the photos, I got a little obsessive trying to 'catch a wave' with the camera!

Anne Leuck 8/9/08 Anne Leuck 8/9/08

Another treasure for my kitchen...

In Minneapolis I received this lovely coffee cup as a thank you gift from my friend, Deb LeAir. She doesn't make these for sale anymore so I feel very lucky to have one. Her pieces are all hand carved, even around the bottom - such amazing detail...check out her website: www.DebLeAir.com to see more of her fabulous work.

Anne Leuck 8/7/08 Anne Leuck 8/7/08

Uptown Trade...

More new FUNctional ARt...At Uptown I traded for these lovely tumblers with MPLS clay artist Emily Dyer...her work is so whimsical and sweet. It was hard to pick from so many fun pieces but that pink interior got me...so I decided to make it a threesome...I can't wait to sip hot chocolate out of it on a blustery fall night! Yes, I"m more of an autumn girl than summer - glad things finally cooled off a bit here in Chicago today!

Anne Leuck 8/6/08 Anne Leuck 8/6/08

A wonderful trip...

Monday night I returned home from my trip to Minneapolis for the Uptown Art Fair. It was a great week, I was able to spend time with my Mom on the way up and my Dad on the way back. I traveled and stayed with my best friends from childhood...it was such a treat...lots of belly laughs...you know the ones where you laugh so hard you cry. Also got to have my booth right next to my good friend Deb Le Air:

And the art fair was my best of the summer so far...which I will count myself lucky as folks reported sales (always a relative thing) as being way down from last year.

This little pup...Frida...a Red Heeler mix hung out in my booth for awhile..she was very sweet and affectionate as I was needing some dog love being apart from Izzy & Alice for so long. Notice her crazy spotted tongue!

This is a photo of me with the Wood girls left to right: Michele, Heather (with daughter Karlie) and Dawn - we grew up across the street from one another in Sparta...their house was like my second home (I remember the day Heather was born!). Dawn is my oldest friend and like a sister.

This is my crazy friend Lee who I also grew up with...she and Dawn were amazing atheletes and I was always tagging along trying to keep up but NEVER did. She makes me laugh hysterically and is just an overall outstanding human being who I do not see enough of!

Anne Leuck 7/31/08 Anne Leuck 7/31/08

Minneapolis Uptown Art Fair this Weekend...

Anne Leuck 7/29/08 Anne Leuck 7/29/08

Canned

Illustration Friday Word: CANNED

Have not particpated in IF for weeks..months! I drew this in my sketchbook, scanned and added some digital baby blue. Another fun way to productively procrastinate!

Anne Leuck 7/28/08 Anne Leuck 7/28/08

Art Re-Treat

Back from an amazing art retreat weekend in rural Wisconsin with Rachel and Erica ..and remotely our dear friend Lois Keller.

Rachel started this amazing new series of paintings and created several lovely water colors...

Erica pulled this one out of her hat...this large piece consists of 10 separate panels:

Lois shipped us a box of treasures, included for each of us was a lovely drawing (this is the one she sent for me) with sentiments and her wishes for each of us and our creative lives for 2008.

And these are some of my pieces - I did paintings on cardboard:

These 3 women have impacted my life and art in so many ways, we have a very magical connection that has only strengthened over the last 7+ years. I'd love to share more as so many wonderful things transpired...but I'll just have to leave you with these snippets since I'm scrambling to get myself and things together before I leave Wednesdayfor my trip up to Minneapolis for the Uptown Art Fair. Not an easything since I've had a non-stop whirl wind of fun, adventure and travel over the last few weeks. I feel so lucky to be taking all these trips and for the chance to reconnect with so many wonderful friends and family.