Author Archives: Leah

Dunny Ultramarine Acrylic, collage, polymer clay & found objects on vinyl toy (front & back)

DunnyUltramarine-LeahPalmerPreissThis little guy is a commissioned 3-inch Dunny (actually more like 2.75 inches in real measurement). I was lucky enough to have a free brief, so I made several different sketches & the client chose this concept. The text on his back is from an old dictionary, & includes the chemical formula for synthetic ultramarine. The little trident is made of polymer clay and a “stick” jewelry finding I picked up at the flea market. I rolled gold leaf onto the green polymer clay before cutting the fork, & painted the back of the brass handle with diluted green paint so that the metal resisted it a bit. I thought it was quite interesting how similar the two textures turned out in the end. That’s why I love Nature’s chaos!

BottleBlossom (Detail of larger painting) ~3" x 4"

BottleBlossom-LeahPalmerPreiss

Here’s another snippet from Dreaming— along with a bit of wonderful news: Cartozia’s Kickstarter was a great success– even exceeded the goal! I’m so glad to know that this inventive comic will be able to wander onward in its wonderfully curious way– many thanks to all of you who helped spread the word!

Vegetotem (Detail of larger painting)

Vegetotem-LeahPalmerPreiss

Yet another detail from Dreaming. The entire painting is 30″ x 24″; this part is about 6″ x 3″. You can see more tidbits from the painting here. I’ll be putting prints of the whole thing up in my Etsy shop soon. :-)

In case you were wondering, SPX was fantastic. It was my first con & I had no idea what a tumult of sensory overload it would be! So many amazing people, such a high concentration of creativity! It was a little dizzy-making at times, but a great experience overall. I’d definitely recommend a visit if you ever have the chance.

Free Goodies for SPX! Curiotype stickers & more!

SPX stuff

I’ve been coming up with a bundle of new stuff to share at SPX. If you’re coming please be sure to stop by my table! (I’ll be at D8-9a with Isaac Cates & Sam Wolk.) Please drop by early so you can grab the Curiotype initial of your choice!

Oh p.s. you will be able to spot me by my hat. C|:-)

Also, I will be unveiling prints of the full painting these details came from!

I’m coming to SPX! Small Press Expo 2013

SPX

These days I’m putting my Epson R3000 to the test, churning out archival prints to bring to SPX 2013. This is my first comic convention ever– I’ve never even attended one! So I’m pretty excited to be tabling along with Isaac Cates of AlphaBotsCartozia Tales, & Sam Wolk, a fellow AlphaBotter. There will be comics, cards, prints aplenty! If any of you plan to come, please stop by our table, D8-9a, & say hello!

p.s. More AlphaBots folks will be at SPX as well– Christian Sager, Henry Eudy & Kelly Williams will be at table J10!

Shroomdweller Acrylic on collaged paper on canvas, 12"x6"

Shroomdweller-LeahPalmerPreiss

I’ve been working on this relatively small painting in between jobs for over a month now! I’ll probably tweak it a bit more yet, but I couldn’t wait to share it now that it’s finally coming close to what I envisioned. This mushroom, like its climber, is entirely imaginary, but it was inspired by various real species. If you are a fan of fungi in its many fanciful forms, be sure to check out this fascinating blog: When we die, we become one with the earth. Beautiful photos of some amazing shrooms!

The background engraving was scanned from The Practical Standard Dictionary, 1943; the borders were from an old map.

The not-so-secret message in the annulus refers to a series of books by Eleanor Cameron that I loved as a child. Working on this really made me want to reread those books!

p.s. This one’s dedicated to my friend Heather, an avid mushroom-hunter, & my father, a soon-to-be truffle farmer!

Edit: Prints of this painting (along with the original) are now available in my Etsy shop!