Fairy-tale Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

When I was little I truly wanted to be a fairy. I spent a lot of time thinking about how cool it would be to be able to hide under a leaf or fly with butterflies. And though I later became obsessed with logic, & grew up to be quite a skeptical person when it comes to real life, there is still a part of me that resonates very deeply with fairy tales.

So when one of Anu’s suggestions was fairy-tale, I jumped straight into a literal interpretation… with a bit of a meta twist, I guess, since in this case a fairy is reading a fairy tale to a littler fairy. Or rather the storybook is somehow reading itself into another dimension, so that the baby is literally able to grasp the words. (This sort of thing is where my hand takes over & the logical part of my brain has nothing to do with it!)

Fairies are a pleasure to paint, & for an extra treat I indulged myself with another of my favorite things– imaginary flowers & foliage. It was a very soothing experience overall, though it was a bit challenging that the main characters’ faces ended up being smaller than a fingernail! It would have been useful to be able to shrink myself down to fairy-size for that part!

If you like you can use internet magic to fly over to my Etsy shop to find this painting & prints.

Thanks as always to Anu for all his magic words, & for putting up with my highly illogical process of creating these A.Word.A.Day illustrations every year. This week has become one of my favorite December rituals, in much the same way that a bedtime story is my favorite way to end the day. Especially when real life is all too much. So it is particularly satisfying that this year’s AWAD week literally has a fairy-tale ending! And I hope we all somehow manage to live happily ever after!

Kindler Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

It was a joy to paint this illustration for Kindler– with Kamala Harris in mind, of course– but it’s bittersweet to write about it now.

When I was looking through my vintage dictionaries for the text in this image, it struck me that the words “kind, kindly, kindness, & kindergarten” appeared on the same page. It inspired me to add a little kinder-kitten looking up to the kindler-cat, as so many little girls did to Kamala — although she was actually more likely to get down on their level to encourage them.

Kamala Harris was a ray of hope at a dismal moment in our country’s history. Sadly, not enough of us came through to bring her vision of the future to light. It was a tragedy for our country, but it will be even worse if we give up hope now & stop trying.

As she said after the election, “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time. For the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But, America, if it is: Let us fill the sky with the light of a billion brilliant stars.”

More of us need to do the work now than ever before. Don’t tune out, keep doing what you can to protect rights that are being threatened. Contact representatives, speak out for the oppressed, support organizations that are still making the effort.

With that in mind, half of the profits from this print will be donated to the ACLU.

Berserk Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

I’m certainly no advocate of frenzied violence, but somehow I’ve always liked the word Berserk, so when Anu suggested it I was eager to give it a go.

My hand does most of the thinking when I’m sketching, and in this case it took over completely. Though the Berserkir of Norse legend were human warriors dressed as bears, my hand decided that an armed orm made for a better “B.” Then the weapon that began as a battle-axe somehow morphed into a fly-swatter, which made me laugh.

Soon I had our orm surrounded by a swarm of insects, but then I realized it would be even funnier if he were facing a single tiny foe. (A very rare instance of Leah minimalism– though the horror vacui caused by the disappearing swarm was partially allayed by a rather elaborate & calligraphic flight-path.)

Back to my maximalist ways, & remembering a dazzling exhibit of military metalwork I saw many years ago, I gave our orm a horned helmet emblazoned with a filigree fly, & the motto “7 in 1” as a nod to The Brave Little Tailor, Grimm’s famed insect warrior.

This painting & prints can be found in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.

Gobbledygook Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

Acrylic painting by Leah Palmer Preiss depicting a rooster with Trump's head, spouting Gettysburg gobbledygook against a background of dripping ketchup

When Anu offered the word Gobbledygook, I instantly thought of a past president who gave a memorable speech on Gettysburg.

Not Lincoln, of course! — the Former Guy, who tragically is now The Future Guy. When he first took office in 2017, the Year of the Rooster, I painted him as a Cockalorum. His tendency to produce loud, irritating & meaningless noise has certainly not diminished since then, so I decided to reprise that character here. This time he’s producing a speech bubble in the shape of a G (à la Saul Steinberg) containing verbatim excerpts from the Cockalorum’s incoherent word salad in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania last April. And the background shows a ketchup bloodbath, layered over dictionary text and a political map of North America.

It certainly was not as much fun to paint this illustration as I’d hoped. When I sketched it out I was picturing November as a relatively happy time when we could all shake our heads in disbelief that such a disreputable & ridiculous character could run for president twice. Instead this country has made the devastating mistake of actually reelecting him. It’s a perilous moment for the United States, not just because of this particular scoundrel, but the cruel, corrupt, anti-science & arguably insane company he keeps. In my long life I’ve never been more disappointed in an election or more concerned for the future of the country & the world.

Sometimes it feels inappropriate to make fun of TFG when the situation is so serious. But then I remember the cartoons of the 40s… so I guess I’ll keep doing what I do as long as I can!

This painting & prints can be found in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.

Mimetic Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

Acrylic painting by Leah Palmer Preiss depicting two circus monkeys forming the letter M for Mimetic

Step right up, folks! Don’t miss this year’s week of illustrated A.Word.A.Day words with Wordsmith Ringmaster Anu Garg!

The show opens with a pair of mischievous monkeys, illustrating our first word, “Mimetic: Copying the behavior, appearance, or characteristics of others.”

With the initial “M” in mind, my first thought was the classic Marx Brothers’ mirror scene, but once the phrase “monkey see, monkey do” came to mind I was off to the circus instead!

There, two marvelously mobile monkeys mirrored each other to make a mutual “M” (& more “M”s appeared in the background, for good measure.) It was a fun one to paint & a merry diversion from the maddening political circus going on this year. (Unlike the next illustration! Come back tomorrow if you dare to enter that sideshow!)

This painting & prints are available in my Etsy Shop, Curious Art Lab.

Umbriferous Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

As a fair-skinned, burn-prone person, I’m always grateful for a beautiful and umbriferous tree to shadow me from the sunne’s scorching beames. I imagine this Unau (not to be confused with the much more industrious Anu!!) feels the same. And although, like all sloths, she could easily have created that U-curve all by her stretchy self, a comfy hammock leaves her toes free to hold a book. (Under Milk Wood, of course!)

It would have been fitting if I’d had some burnt umber on hand to paint the bark details, but I didn’t think about that in time, so I had to mix up a rough equivalent (using its chemical relative, red iron oxide) to delineate the Shakespeare quotation. I just hope the bard’s shade doesn’t take umbrage at my presumptuous repunctuation of his verse!

Alas, the sun is setting on this wonderful week of A.Word.A.Day words, & I’m contemplating a long, appropriately slothful winter’s nap, but not before I thank Anu with all my heart, for his inspiration, his patience, & his lovely community of word lovers. I look forward to hanging out with you all every year. See you in 2024! ♥ ♥ ♥ L

(This painting & prints are now available in my Etsy Shop, Curious Art Lab.)

Lotic Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

One of my sons loves fly-fishing in mountain streams, & when I mentioned that Lo t ic was one of this year’s words for A.Word.A.Day, he suggested I illustrate a rainbow trout. I’m a sucker for iridescence (see Chatoyant) so of course I jumped at the chance!

Rainbow trout love to jump too, so a leaping trout & its underwater companion easily formed an L. Now, thanks to Anu, I’ve illustrated three words about watery habitats: the others are Lentic & Pelagic.

(Painting sold but prints are now available in my Etsy Shop, Curious Art Lab.)

Heliophilous Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

Today’s word, Heliophilous, immediately made me think of cats. They always seek out the sunniest spots in the house. (One of our family cats was actually named Sunspot.)

Of course I also thought of sunflowers, whose Latin name, Helianthus, shares the same root as today’s word. Even better is the French word for sunflower, tournesol. It refers to the plant’s habit of turning toward the sun, but I’m especially fond of it because it reminds me of Tintin.

Getting these two sun-lovers to play together in a way that also formed an H was the real challenge! That’s where the garden wall came in, to elevate the kitty to blossom level & give a baseline (or should I say dance floor?) to the H.

(This painting & prints are available in my Etsy Shop, Curious Art Lab.)

Diablerie Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

As soon as I saw today’s word, Diablerie, I knew the hard part would be choosing from all the possibilities that were whirling around in my head. My sketchbook started filling up with a ghosts, devils, witches, demons, & darkness. But as much as I’m drawn to spookiness (see Eldritch), in the end I conjured up a sillier sort of mischievous weirdness, inspired by my lifelong love of medieval marginalia like these.

A sort of palimpsest of earlier ideas remains in the background text, though, with faint traces of demonic sigils & other symbols of black magic mingling with the dictionary elements.

(Painting sold but prints are available in my Etsy Shop, Curious Art Lab.)

Aristology Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

Aristology, an acrylic painting by Leah Palmer Preiss of two antelopes toasting one another at a dining table by candlelight.

I’d like to propose a toast to Anu Garg & to all who have an abiding appetite for A.Word.A.Day! It’s time for this year’s illustrated words, & for our first course we have “Aristology.”

I’d never encountered the word until Anu suggested it, & on seeing the definition alone, my first idea was an opulent tablescape array similar to Gastronome. But I was curious about the word’s origin, & a bit of research led to Thomas Walker, the writer who originally coined the word in 1835, in his book Aristology, or the Art of Dining.

It turns out the fellow was adamantly opposed to grandiose excess at the table, & as concerned with his diners’ health & digestive comfort as with their sensory delight. So I decided to scale down the menu to something much lighter. For a while I focused microscopically on the scientific side of dining, with Molecular Gastronomy as the theme, but the sketches left me cold & hungry for another idea.

Then a pair of amorous antelopes wandered into the sketchbook & warmed things up. Antelopes are very dainty eaters, preferring a light repast of leaves, twigs, grass & mushrooms. But as far as I know, science has not yet proven that they don’t appreciate a nice glass of wine by candlelight now & then. And occasionally they may even enjoy nibbling appropriate quotations from the bark of nearby trees.