Art

Paintings, illustrations, curiollages &c.
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Namazu Acrylic on paper, ~6.75" x 4"

Oddment99-Namazu-LeahPalmerPreiss

I painted this last year as part of the AlphaBeasts! series.

From my old Oddments blog:

This week’s critter for AlphaBeasts! is Namazu, a giant catfish monster who causes earthquakes & tsunamis whenever he manages to wrestle free from his usual captive state. I thought it was interesting that catfish do tend to abandon their normal bottom-feeding habits when they feel tremors; their unusual activity at such times probably led to this legend.

Acrylic on illustration scanned from Cornell’s Primary Geography, 1873. (And yes, I know catfish don’t live in the ocean. Namazu is a river-beast. But I figured he might wander seaward when he’s in mid-mischief.)

Prints are available in my Etsy shop!

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.

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!