Prints Available

other subcategories:

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 Lotic 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.)

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.

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

Rutilant

Acrylic painting by Leah Palmer Preiss depicting a girl with long red hair against a green background

Today’s illustration of Rutilant was one of the many times when my fingers come up with an idea before my brain does. As I was doodling R shapes in my sketchbook, one of them reminded me of an old-school flip hairstyle. And what could be more rutilant than a redhead?

At first my sketches centered on the face, but then I thought it would be funnier if the hair were floor-length. A little distortion of proportion has never bothered me, so I went for it! And the long red hair made me think of Rossetti, so I added a pomegranate & green gown as a nod to this painting.

In keeping with the red, gold & gleaming theme, a pair of ruby slippers & a golden hair ribbon were my last additions. It didn’t even occur to me until mid-painting that the color scheme is very Christmasy!

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

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

Acrylic painting by Leah Palmer Preiss depicting a nest of cute golden baby dragons agains a dark background with text defining "nidus: a nest or breeding place"

For our second word, Nidus, my first few thoughts took a very dark direction, but I decided to go a little lighter, mainly because I wanted to cheer myself up! Painting imaginary critters always takes me to a happy place, & these little hatchlings did the job. I doubt they’ll be this creepy-cute when they grow up, but I suspect we’ll be glad they’re on our side!

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

Voyager (1) Digital Painting (Photoshop)

Acrylic painting by Leah Palmer Preiss depicting a tiger swimming in rough water

My husband Tony is crazy about tigers, so I was delighted to see that according to the Chinese Zodiac, 2022 is the Year of the Water Tiger. We’ve also traversed some rough seas lately, metaphorically speaking, & I wanted to express my gratitude for how he’s carried me through these challenging times. So this is the Lunar New Year painting I created in his honor. The little calligrapher mouse in the houseboat is my avatar, so to speak, as the steadfast tiger is his.

Close up of Tiger Head by Leah Palmer Preiss

The mouse’s hat & curious whiskers were loosely inspired by a portrait of the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di, below, which I discovered while researching Zheng He, a great Chinese explorer of the early Ming dynasty. I’m a hat person & the resemblance of the emperor’s headgear to the iconic Mickey Mouse ears was irresistible.

The Chinese character that mousy-me is writing is one of several that translate to tiger. I’m not really sure if it’s the most accurate translation, but it is the simplest to draw!

Prints of Voyager (1) are now in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.

Prints of Voyager (1) are now in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.

SeraphicAcrylic on Text on Wood Panel, 8″ x 8″

When I first sketched out this seraphic being, it had feathery wings that were fiery only in color, much like the phoenix in Fulgor.
Although I do love to paint feathers, as I thought more about the word’s etymology–

“From Latin seraphim, from Greek seraphim, from Hebrew seraphim, from saraph (to burn).”

A.Word.A.Day

–I decided to try a rough sketch of a straight-up flaming version. Once it began to take shape, I never looked back.

As I was painting the face I tried to capture a sense of seraphic serenity, but also of empowerment & determination. I visualized a being capable of bringing light & comfort in dark times, like fire itself, but also holding immense power & mystery.

This was my second painting on panel after Daedal. The (slightly) larger size and smoother surface seemed to befit an angelic entity!

The original painting & prints are now available in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.

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

Nature art painting by Leah Palmer Preiss, Xylophilous: Tree wildlife-- beaver, chipmunk, owl, woodpecker & other birds, mushrooms, ferns on crossed tree trunks

Even though I live in a city, a block away from a busy street, I’m definitely xylophilous! (In the etymological sense, that is– wood-loving.) My childhood home bordered on a forest, & my family spent many hours working, playing & wandering in the woods. But I’ve always said that I can’t see the forest for the lichen, because my favorite thing to explore & paint are all the tiny little life-forms that are overshadowed (yet also supported) by the overstory.

So when Anu offered this word, I jumped at the chance to create my own little peaceable kingdom of wood-loving flora & fauna. It’s certainly not an accurate sample of xylophilous species in the scientific sense, & it vastly under-represents the number of species that depend on trees– I couldn’t begin to show the tiny beetles and borers that live in & under bark, for example– but I hope it gets the point across that even dying or damaged trees can be teeming with life & potential & beauty in their own way. As William Blake said, “A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.” Or even a wise beetle!

I couldn’t resist hiding that quotation in the bark, & if you look in the background near the pendulous possum, you may find a rather dreadful math pun tucked in there too. Apologies in advance.

The original painting is sold, but prints are now available in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.

Involute

Acrylic painting by Leah Palmer Preiss: A curious curly fiddlehead fern-creature greets a snail atop a magic mushroom.

I’ve always had a weakness for curly green things…

…so when Anu offered the word Involute, my mind went right to fiddlehead ferns. And because I am probably part snail, I thought I’d throw in a little self-portrait as well! But then my alter-ego looked a bit lonely, so Fiddlehead Fernfellow was born. And what better place for the two to meet than on a magic mushroom in the moonlight?

The original painting is sold; prints are now available in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.

Mugs are also available in my Zazzle shop, Curious Art Lab on Zazzle.

A mug with an illustration of a fern creature & snail on a mushroom

Into the Labyrinth! Daedal, Acrylic on Text on Wood Panel, 8″ x 8″

An acrylic painting on panel by Leah Palmer Preiss, showing a group of golden dinosaurs exploring a labyrinth shaped like the letter D.

When Anu Garg offered me the word “Daedal” to illustrate for A.Word.A.Day, I knew it was bound to get complicated, & sure enough, it was a long & labyrinthine path from my first concept to the finished painting.

Originally we had intended it to appear in 2020, to complete my second A.W.A.D. alphabet, but it took me so long to finish that we decided to save it for 2021. Patience is one of Anu’s many virtues, for which I’m endlessly grateful!

Even though there were many times during the making of Daedal that I feared I might never escape its convolutions & complexities, there were also moments of serendipity and delight. Early on, as I was struggling through the construction stage, (3D architectural drawing is so not my forte!) I heard this amazing poem by A. E. Stallings on the Poetry Magazine podcast:

“To build a labyrinth it takes
A twisted mind, a puzzled art,
A fractal branching of mistakes.” (See the full poem here.)

Not only was the poem literally titled “Daedal” (!!!) but it perfectly captured my feelings about creating this piece, and the journey of my artwork in general. I asked the author’s permission to include the above lines in the painting, & when she was kind enough to say yes, I felt I’d been given a magical talisman conferring the strength I needed to keep building!

Finally, the structure began to take shape. Then a group of dinosaurs came to visit. Then one of them morphed into a dinotaur (or is it a minosaur?)–this was starting to feel like my kind of adventure!

When I was finally ready to turn the drawing into an actual painting, I realized it just wasn’t going to fit on my usual 6″ x 6″ canvas. I ended up using an 8″ x 8″ wooden panel, a new experience for me that I liked so much I did it again for another A.W.A.D. piece this year. (Stay tuned!)

In the end, I was grateful for the lessons I learned from this “fractal branching of mistakes!” If you’re curious to see a snippet of my super-slow invisible-brushstroke painting method, (no joke, this is really what it’s like *sob*) check out this little video on my Instagram page.

The original painting is sold; prints are now available in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.