This article about my exhibition at the Throckmorton Library, is featured in Fort Bragg's Spring MWR (Moral, Welfare, and Recreation) Magazine.
"Leslie Pearson is an artist exploring the traditional space we see on a daily basis in a nontraditional way through her rich use of lines, marks, and patterns," said Tom Grubb, the Director of the Fayetteville Museum of Art. "From her titles the viewer gains insight as to what the artist is thinking -- her use of a variety of media brings a sublime distinction to her work."
Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from my high school art teacher, Mr. Smith from Poplar Bluff, MO where I grew up. I guess I haven't seen or talked to him since I graduated in 1994 so needless to say I was very happy to see that he had kept a drawing I gave him so many years ago. He sent the above picture--a finch sketched in pen and ink, and probably done around 1992. I guess my fascination with bird imagery started much earlier than I remembered.
Last week in Florida, we made our way to the new Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. In a word...WOW! That was the highlight of the trip for me because the exhibition, Dali and Film, features many of his paintings and films that I'd only ever read about or seen small images of in art books. The art was pulled from museums such as the Tate Modern, etc. The most amazing thing to see was Destino.
Destino is a short animated cartoon released in 2003 by The Walt Disney Company. Destino is unique in that its production originally began in 1945, 58 years before its original release. The project was a collaboration between American animator Walt Disney and Catalan painter Salvador Dalí, and features music written by Mexican songwriter Armando Dominguez.
Destino was storyboarded by Disney studio artist John Hench and artist Salvador Dalí for eight months in late 1945 and 1946; however, financial concerns caused Disney to cease production. The Walt Disney Company, then Walt Disney Studios, was plagued by many financial woes in the World War II era. Hench compiled a short animation test of about 18 seconds in the hopes of rekindling Disney's interest in the project, but the production was no longer deemed financially viable and put on indefinite hiatus.
In 1999, Walt Disney's nephew Roy Edward Disney, while working on Fantasia 2000, unearthed the dormant project and decided to bring it back to life. Disney Studios France, the company's small Parisian production department, was brought on board to complete the project. The short was produced by Baker Bloodworth and directed by French animator Dominique Monfrey in his first directorial role. A team of approximately 25 animators deciphered Dalí and Hench's cryptic storyboards (with a little help from the journals of Dalí's wife Gala Dalí and guidance from Hench himself), and finished Destino's production. The end result is mostly traditional animation, including Hench's original footage, but it also contains some computer animation.
The finished product was meant to be part of the cancelled film Fantasia 2006 but when the short was completed after the film's cancellation, Destino (as well as three other completed segments) were changed to short subjects.
Destino premiered on June 2, 2003 at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in Annecy, France. The six-minute short follows a female dancer as she dances through surreal scenery inspired by Dalí's paintings. There is little dialogue, but the sound track features a song by the Mexican composer, Armando Dominguez.
"Resonance and Relevance" A collection of narrative paintings referencing Biblical themes, scriptures, and stories by Leslie Pearson will open at the Cape Fear Artist's Studios on Friday, February 22 during the 4th Friday gallery hop, downtown Fayetteville from 7-9pm. The event is free and the exhibition will run through March.
Image: Alpha/Omega, Oil, sand, and torn paper on panel, 42" x 48"
These are some photos I took of my husband, Justin, while we were in Florida. He needed some good pics of himself for his website, etc. since he's starting his new business, Justin Pearson Photography. Overall, I think they turned out great (keep in mind, he's the pro with the camera, not me).
Banyan trees are pretty cool! Until visiting Florida, I'd never seen one before. I was so impressed I did this pastel drawing of the one I climbed up in 2003.
"Banyan Trees in Florida", Chalk pastel on paper, 26" x 19", 2004
The banyan has characteristics peculiar to itself. It is a native of India but grows well in Florida where the climate is similar. The banyan rarely starts on the ground, but its life begins possibly in the crown of a palm tree where the seed may have been carried by a bird. Here it grows until it embraces and finally kills the palm. Small roots come from the branches at regular intervals. These grow downward to the ground and attach themselves to the soil, take food direct from it and thus form new trunk or prop. In this way numerous trunks are formed. As the tree advances in age and size it finally breaks apart, forming separate trees. The old tree decays and the new divisions become, in turn, new centers for additional trees. The name "banyan" means merchant and is so given because the native Indian merchants spread their wares in the shade of these trees. The wood of the banyan is light and is of no commerical value. The Hindus use its glutinous sap for medicinal purposes.
So I'm in Long Boat Key, Florida to frolic in the sun for a few days. I haven't been since November of 2003, when we went to see my husband's aunt and uncle. While there, we visited several points of interest in Sarasota including the Ca d'zan mansion, home of the famous circus family: the Ringlings. Ca d'zan houses the largest collection of Peter Paul Rubens paintings in North America.
And finally, museum fatigue sets in (notice the docent taking a cat nap behind me).
This is me with my friend Shelby who presented me with one of her original paintings yesterday. There is nothing better than giving (and getting) the gift of art.
No folks, the little person sprawled out on my "operating table" is not undergoing a face-lift. I'm teaching some students to make a mask of their faces using plaster infused gauze strips. Pretty cool!
My hubby got out of the Army a few days ago and so, after nearly five years of marriage and four deployments to Afghanistan, we are finally going to be free to live our lives together. This song is dedicated to Justin...
Last night I hosted a party that kicked off with a traditional Indian feast, complete with a delicious lemon-cilantro chicken curry over basmati rice, tons of vegetables in a spicy yogurt sauce, and even mango lassies. The main event for the evening was screenprinting, one of my all time favorite things to do and to teach others to do. We picked two designs from some screens that I had burned ahead of time -- one of Andy Warhol's floral prints and one of my original designs -- a bird in flight. We all had a great time doing our t-shirts and totes. Thank you to Rachel Bjorn for being the photographer:
Yesterday I went to a Adobe Photoshop conference in Raleigh, NC with my friend Rachel. As an artist, I find myself using Photoshop more and more, especially when preparing images of my work for the web and to convert to slides (which in my opinion is becoming archaic). The workshop was an awesome all-day event. We were submerged in the details of how to use "buttons" I'd previously been too afraid to touch. Of course, this morning I woke up and was all excited to show my husband the new tricks I'd learned, but when I opened my first image and attempted to work with layer masks....I blanked. Back to the drawing board I guess.
I do love Photoshop though and this is an example of the way I typically use it:
First I set up my finished artwork against a white background. This piece is a triptych that required three individual photos to be combined into one final image (that I added a drop shadow to). Keep in mind that my husband shoots with a D300, sets the white balance before shooting, uses a tripod, and crops in as close as possible. I go into Photoshop and do the rest.
Now you can easily buy my art online through a new storefront I've set up on Etsy. I've listed a few paintings to get started. Just set up a paypal account and start shopping...
Since I haven't posted a blog in about three days now, I'm sure some of my faithful readers have been wondering, "Where is Leslie"? Well, I have been busily making ready my new studio at Acme in Wilmington, NC. When I first stepped foot in the space I was awestruck and couldn't see any flaws. After closer inspection I started to notice the haunted house like cobwebs covering the ceiling and crowding every corner. The last person to occupy the studio was a woodworker so a fine layer of sawdust was on ever wall. Early Sunday morning we started cleaning and literally vacuuming off the walls and ceilings to rid the place of the spiders and their webs. By the end of Monday we were attempting to paint the 12 foot high walls. It's still a work in progress. Not everything got painted. There's still a utility sink to be installed, a room to build around the sink for doing darkroom work and screenprinting. Hopefully by the time I move there for good, the place will be a clean, organized work space ready for me to trash out again.
