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.)

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.

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

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

Our final act for this year’s concert of words is Tatterdemalion. I’ve often used this word to describe myself, as I detest shopping, & will wear favorite garments to tatters.

When I was sketching ideas, I first thought of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Match Girl,” but the idea of painting her just made me too sad, so I decided to portray a busker of the Victorian era. His sheet music is Gilbert & Sullivan’s “A Wand’ring Minstrel, I” (“…a thing of shreds & patches, of ballads, songs & snatches…”). Oh, & why is he an otter? Just because I love painting anthropomorphic animals & the name Otterdemalion popped into my head!

I painted him in warm colors, but given the subject matter I thought it would be interesting to offer a print in the sepia-toned series I call “Tinctures.”

Both are available in my Etsy Shop, Curious Art Lab.

Thank you again to Anu for inviting me back for this week, always my favorite gig of the year. And thank you to all who have joined me here! May your days be merry & bright & full of music!

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.)

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

Acrylic Painting by Leah Palmer Preiss of a giant squid battling plastic

Today’s word, Pelagic, like last year’s Lentic, is a scientific term describing a water ecosystem, in this case the open sea. Researching various inhabitants of the zone, I was drawn in by the giant squid– not as scary as that sounds! Aside from this squid’s many fascinating qualities, its tentacles can conveniently be arranged to read as a Curiotype P.

Dangerously near pelagic in the dictionary lurks plastic. That coincidence reminded me of a painting commission I did a few years ago, to illustrate the word Obfuscation: an octopus emitting ink, & surrounded by a gyre of floating plastic. Plastic pollution in the ocean is a serious problem, & I decided to make this painting a companion piece of sorts.

This painting, & prints of the others referenced, are available in my Etsy shop, CuriousArtLab.

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.)

A Curious Mess Cherubic: Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

Life has been a bit chaotic around here this year, but now that it’s time for my week with Anu Garg’s A.Word.A.Day, things are looking up!

Our first word, Cherubic, had me thinking literally for a while & getting nowhere, but when it occurred to me that a rather devilish kitty could also be a little angel, all the chaos came together.

And isn’t that the way life is? Things fall apart, then reassemble in new ways. Years can be brutal yet beautiful– full of new challenges, but also happy accidents & comforting constants. Oh 2022, I guess I’ll forgive you for all the mayhem & mischief you caused! I know you didn’t do it on purpose!

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