Curiotype

Illustrated letters of all sorts
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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.)

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.)

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.)

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.