A Labor of Love

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Getting ready for my solo show at Gale's.

All 40 paintings are framed, labeled, priced and ready to head out this morning. I have already delivered the seven paintings to Debra Huse Gallery, Segil Fine Art and Randy Higbee Gallery. So yes ... there is no art left in my house!
So ... if you live in southern California I hope to see you this weekend at one of the four events my art can be seen ...

Gale's Restaurant

Leslie Saeta Solo Show

November 30 - January 15, 2010 

Artist’s Reception is Sunday, December 5th, 4:00 - 6:00 pm

452 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105  

626. (626)432-6705

Debra Huse Gallery

Holiday Treasures

Opening Reception Saturday Dec 4th, 2010 6:00pm - 8:00pm

December 4th - January 6th, 2010

Small gem-like paintings that you can treasure always by award-winning artists Leslie Saeta, Greg LaRock, Debra Huse, Michael Obermeyer, Christine Hooker, Randal Sexton, Patti Cliffton & John Budicin.

229 Marine Avenue, Ste E, Balboa Island, CA 92662

949-723-6171

www.debrahusegallery.com

Segil Fine Art

Small Works Show

December 4 - 31, 2010

Opening reception Saturday, December 4th, 5:00 - 7:00 pm

626-358-5563

Randy Higbee Gallery

6” Squared Exhibit

December 4 - 23, 2010

Opening Reception Saturday, December 4th, 4:00 - 8:00 pm

714-546-2156 

Reflections on the Pavilion - SOLD

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"Reflections on the Pavilion"

11" x 14"on museum quality canvas panel.

Sold.

After painting like a maniac for the past few months, the next two days will be spent framing, labeling and cataloging all of my paintings. I will deliver 46 paintings in the next few days to Randy Higbee Gallery, Debra Huse Gallery and Gale's Restaurant. Yesterday I dropped off two at Segil Fine Art Gallery. Needless to say, there will be no paintings left to decorate the walls of my house. So on Wednesday I will be back in my studio to continue painting to fill up the empty walls in time for Christmas! Yikes!

All Things Nice

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"All Things Nice"

Oil, 6" x 6"

For some reason this painting reminded me of the well known nursery rhyme: 


"What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !"
What are little girls made of?
"Sugar and spice and all things nice
That's what little girls are made of!"

As a mother of three boys, I totally get this ... but I think the few lines can be re-written depending on your own experiences! Anybody want to give it a try?

Watching The Sunset

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"Watching The Sunset"

Oil, 24" x 24" framed.

I have a few more days of painting left before I ship off every single painting I have in "inventory" to the shows I am participating in December. I will be at Gale's Restaurant, Segil Fine Gallery, Randy Higbee Gallery and Debra Huse Gallery. It's been a busy few months but very fun.
I am so looking forward to time with family this Thanksgiving week ... I love the holidays! And my oldest son is home from college in a few hours. Yippee!

Just a Typical Day ... SOLD

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"Shoulder to Shoulder"

Oil, 6" x 6" framed.
Sold.

Yesterday was one of those days ... I started at the swim meet, then raced to the waterpolo game, watched the Stanford football game, went to the volleyball game and went back to the swim meet.
Just a typical day ...

There's something about sporting events and "being a sports fan" that is simply remarkable. Perhaps because I have spent so many years cheering my kids on ... who knows ... but all I can say is I love watching sports ... especially when my kids (or their friends) are on the court, field or in the pool. Even though sports represent the thrill of victory and truly the agony of defeat, I think the lessons learned "on the court" are life lessons. 

So, hats off to all of the athletes who participated in the sporting events from yesterday. You cheered, experienced amazing accomplishments and even shed some tears, but I am proud of every single one of you.

UCLA Reflections

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"UCLA Reflections"

Oil, 11" x14"

$700.00 unframed.

Royce Hall is probably one of the most recognized buildings on the UCLA campus. I thought it might be fun to paint it as a reflection in the stone ground. I painted another painting like this a year ago titled "City Hal Reflections".
Thanks so whomever sent the the photo that inspired this painting. It was sent to me a long time ago and I am sorry it took me so long to get around to painting it.

It's All About The Box

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"It's All About The Box"

Oil, 8" x 8"

$350.00 with display easel.

As you know I have been painting a lot of "gift boxes" this month.  And of course, a collection of gift boxes would not be complete without a "little blue box". And I thought I was good at marketing ... Tiffany's has created so much "hype" over their boxes that I think it doesn't matter as much what is inside.  Ok, so maybe this an overstatement, but I know I love getting one of these boxes. And usually what is found inside isn't that bad either!

Sunset Marina

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"Sunset Marina"

Oil, 24" x 24" on box canvas frame.

$1500.00

I am still painting a lot trying to get ready for my shows next month. But I have also been busy trying to encourage everyone to participate in the Art Walk for Annie to help Annie Salness and her family. You can visit the website for Annie here.
Today on the "Artists Helping Artists" radio show, we had Scott Christensen as our guest. It's a terrific interview so you might want to listen to it. Scott is not only an incredibly talented painter but a great guy. His comments are very inspiring!

You Can Make A Difference

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Annie Salness

Many of you read on my blog a few weeks ago that a dear artist friend, Annie Salness, had a stroke. Annie is an amazing woman, wife, mother of four children, artist and friend. She has made remarkable progress in these past few weeks and many of you have asked how you can help Annie and her family.
Some of her artist friends have put together an "Art Walk for Annie" to help raise money to offset some of her medical bills. I put together a website that explains all of the details as to how you can help Annie. I think there is an option here for everyone to help, so please do what you can to help a fellow artist!
In a nutshell, here's what you can do:


1.Donate a small- to medium-sized piece of your art (original or reproduction) toward a silent auction “Art Walk for Annie” scheduled for December 7, 2010 in Portland, OR. Click here for details. (Randy Higbee Art & Frame Co. will offer any frames at a 50% discount for this event. Just send him the painting by November 30th and he will ship the paintings to Portland for free!). Also please try to attend this event!

2. 2.Sell a piece of your art on your blog or website and donate the proceeds to the “Art Walk for Annie” fund. Please send me a photo of the painting and I will post it on the website and add a link to the sale. This will allow everyone to purchase art to help Annie. I can link to your blog or to a link on ebay.

3. 3.Make a small donation ($10 or more) and earn a chance to win an original oil painting or workshop by Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry. Dreama and I are donating an original oil painting or a free spot at one of our workshops (including the three day workshop we teach together in Atlanta (Feb 2011) and Pasadena (Sep 2011)). It's really easy to win. All you need to do is donate $10 or more to the "Art Walk for Annie" fund and for every $10 donated, you will earn a chance to win. As the winner, you can pick the painting of your choice (up to an 8" x 8" size) or attend a free workshop.
   
   
   

   

4. 4.Visit the website for Annie and follow the links to see the art that is offered for sale. Since all proceeds will be 100% donated to the fund, your purchase will help Annie and her family! (It may take a week or so before art for sale is posted ...).
   
   
   Thanks everyone. Do what you can. I really appreciate it. And God bless you!
   Leslie

Entering Stanford

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"Entering Stanford"

Oil, 6" x 6" on museum quality panel.

$200.00 with free display easel (can also be purchased framed)

It's getting to be that dreaded time of the year again. It's college application time! College applications ... more stress than ever imagined ... and the "dreadful waiting period". The college admissions process is unforgettable. And really not that much fun. At least not until it is over ...
Throughout all of the stress (which includes excitement and disappointments) I honestly believe the process does work. There are so many wonderful colleges out there and eventually most kids find a college that is well suited for them. There are the big universities and the small liberal arts colleges and a few thousand others in between. And most of them represent a great place to go to college.
One of my favorite universities is Stanford. I did not go there (I am a UCSB alum) although my husband's entire family did and my oldest son is a sophomore at Stanford. When I dropped him off to college this year I wanted to stay and go to college all over again. It just looked like so much fun (Andrew ... don't panic ... I promise your mom will not go to your college ... I was just kidding).
So I decided to paint a Stanford painting today. I thought it might make a nice Christmas gift for a Stanford alum or student. And I promise there will be UCLA, UCSB and Oregon paintings completed shortly. And maybe even one from a really awesome college in North Carolina ...

Under Wraps

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"Under Wraps"

Oil, 12" x 12"

Available at Gale's Restaurant

Leslie Saeta Solo Show 

November 30th - January 15th

Opening Reception is December 5th

I am painting like a maniac right now getting ready for three December shows. I have a solo show at Gale's Restaurant in Pasadena and the Opening Reception is Sunday, December 5th from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. If you are in the area, I hope you can stop by! I am also included in the Holiday Treasures Show at Debra Huse Gallery in Newport Beach. The opening reception is Saturday, December 4th from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. This show is going to be amazing as it also features the art of Greg LaRock, Debra Huse, Michael Obermeyer, Christine Hooker, Randal Sexton, Patti Cliffton & John Budicin. Click here for more information on my upcoming events. 
What a nice surprise to realize at 7:30 a.m. this morning that it was only 6:30 a.m. We were busy watching football last night (way to go Stanford!) and I completely forgot to set the clocks back. So I am very happy to have an extra hour of painting today!

A Blonde Moment ...

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"Blue Bayou"

Oil, 12" x 12" on museum quality canvas panel.

$550.00

Most of you are aware that I am a blonde. A natural one, in fact. You also need to know that occasionally (and I do mean occasionally!) I do a dumb thing. And on these rare moments, my children seem to think it is important to remind me of my natural hair color.
So yesterday, when I was making lunch for my ailing husband (it's ok to feel sorry for me here ...) I somehow managed to completely bend one of my toes in to a position that I don't think it's supposed to be bent. So, needless to say, I have yet another purple/blue/black toe and cannot really walk ... very well. So, as much as I wanted like to hide this from all of the male species living in my house, it just isn't/wasn't possible. (Just to be fair, I should probably mention that a few months ago I pretty much did the same thing to a toe on my other foot.)
So ... similar accident and now the dumb blonde jokes. Hmmm. Where are all of the "brunette" jokes? Or "redhead" jokes?
So, after spending this morning at the hospital with my husband (he is fine ... you should be feeling sorry for me ... not him) I went up to my studio, and proceeded to paint ... while elevating and icing my toe. Not such a smart idea. Have you ever tired to paint with one foot up in the air?
It's a miracle that I even have a decent painting to post ... and yes ... it's ok to send any good dumb blonde jokes my way. I think I have heard them all ... thanks to the "male species" living in my house! But I sense there might be a few more out there I haven't heard yet.

So really ... what's a girl to do? Oops ... I mean, what's a blonde girl to do?

One Fine Day - Sold

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"One Fine Day"

Oil, 30" x 30"

Sold.

Sorry I don't have a better photo of this commission, but I have discovered I am much better at photographing smaller paintings. I just can't get a good photo of a 30" x 30" ... even in 95 degree sunny weather (isn't it November?). The photograph does not do justice to the painting as you cannot see any of the highlights or detail work ... I guess you will just have to take my word for it!

Giving Thanks

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"Giving Thanks"

(#4 in a series)

Oil, 8" x 8" on museum quality canvas panel.

$350.00 with display easel.

November is the month for "giving thanks" and it's fun to stop and think of all the wonderful things we should be thankful for. I am so blessed with an amazing family and friends and try to be thankful for this every day.
This painting is my fourth in this series. I am still having a blast so I might keep at it for a while. I hope that is ok. I am about to move on to another wrapping paper style, in case you are getting tired of the polka dots!