An Artist's Life by Leada Wood

Studio Twenty Gallery

This is a peek at part of the gallery in Studio Twenty in Colorado City, Texas. Studio Twenty is a consignment gallery with artists doing diverse mediums and techniques. I am always on the lookout for new artists who would like to showcase and sell their art. I am especially in need of glass, metal, wood and ceramic artists. The work must be high quality and professional.  It would also be nice if you don't live too far away so that delivering new work is not a problem.  We love to have visitors at Studio Twenty! Guest artists are always welcome to do a demo or conduct a workshop.
Contact me at www.leadawood.com and we can make arrangements.

I hope you have enjoyed An Artist's Life as much as I have in sharing mine with you.

Remember "Good art takes you somewhere!"

An Artist's Life by Leada Wood

Leada Wood

Ok, you caught me posing for the camera! I am sitting at my watercolor work station, pretending to work! This is where I do my watercolors and drawings. I keep most everything I need within this area. My files are to the left, photos are stored in index files, grouped together in sections. I use labels, gardens, trees, people,ect and then sometimes I break those down into sub-labels, pansies, roses,ect. It usually depends on how many photos of a subject I have if they get their own label. I also save all my photo refrences on dvd.  Over the years you began accumulating so many photographs that at some point you can't print them all. I label all my dvds  so that when I am hunting for a reference it makes it so much easier to find. I then print out the photos I need and place them in a folder with the painting title and file them after the drawing and painting is completed.  I keep records of every painting I create. I have started photgraphing the progression of the process so I can share it with you on my blog. It is a lot of work! But makes life easier when you are searching!
There is more to being an artist than painting.  I am a researcher, photographer, idea person, draftsman, creator, business woman, blogger, web site developer, framer, marketing person, ect. As you see I wear many hats and that is just my artist's life!

Thanks for stopping by! You can see my watercolors by clicking here: http://www.leadawood.com/

An Artist's Life by Leada Wood

Workshop in progress

Artists come in all sizes, shapes and ages. We never get too old to learn! Here are a few dear friends of mine learning a new twist on collage at Studio Twenty.  I love doing collage! I feel like I am repurposing things most folks throw away, you could say it is a green art process. The thing is, you can combine collage with all mediums and mix up your process and come up with some wonderful paintings and techniques.  Or if they don't turn out so wonderful you can keep going until you do love your creation. Sometimes I take old paintings, watercolor or acrylic, on paper or canvas, that aren't up to my expectations and use it as an underpainting and start layering things on top.
It is a great way to recycle materials and turn those bowzers into wowzers! To see some of my collages click here: http://www.leadawood.com/
Thanks for stopping by!

"Rest not! Life is sweeping by, go dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time." -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

An Artist's Life by Leada Wood

Still Life Set Up

Sometimes when artists get together and they can't seem to get going on their painting, they decide to play. I keep lots of inspirational things in my studio for times such as these.  We usually look around and start gathering objects and create still lifes. Then we take many photos, gotta love those digital cameras! This usually leads to many variations of the set up and then different set ups, so you usually spend the afternoon creating and photographing set ups. It is a wonderful way to create new ideas for paintings. I have so many paintings in my head that I know I will never get them all finished, so I have to choose the ones that inspire me the most.
Thanks for stopping by! Come back again and have another peek in my studio.

Creativity is the ability to produce a unique or uncommon idea that comes from within ourselves that is influenced by a lifetime of experience.     Carrie Burns Brown

An Artist's Life by Leada Wood

Leada Wood

This is where I do my mixed media and torn paper collages. I have different work stations for different techniques.  I try to organize my materials in each section where it makes it easier to find things. If you have ever done mixed media you know it takes lots of stuff and you seem to collect things. It is very important to have things organized and labeled to make your work easier. I enjoy creating mixed media and torn paper collages as it is very relaxing to me. I turn up my favorite tunes and let my creative child out to play! I am then in my zone and one with my painting. Thanks for stopping by, if you have any questions I will be glad to answer them if I can.
Stay tuned there is still more to come!

"I am a collector...of colors...vibrant, warm, potent, powerful colors. With an artful eye I look for color currents. Colors to comfort and warm. RED..threads of scarlet... Spice it up!"  ---Leada Wood

Fun at Studio Twenty by Leada Wood, Artist of Texas

Playing with Props

What do two artists do when they get together and neither wants to paint? They start brainstorming and setting up still lifes in the studio with various props sitting around. If you have ever been to Studio Twenty and gone to the back where my studio is, you know I have lots of stuff to set up still lifes with. My friend Linda came over Saturday to visit and paint but neither one of us really could get into the groove so we started getting down stuff and setting them up and having a merry old time taking lots of photos. I know some of these photos will make it into paintings and eventually onto my blog. Its great to have friends to art around with!