I met my Favorite Artist!

About a decade ago while visiting the Street of Dreams in Issaquah, I came upon some paintings in a bedroom of one of the glorious houses.  They were on the walls on on an easel and I was smitten.  After seeing them I found the artist's website and was in love all over again.  In fact,  they inspired me to try to copy her style which really meant I copied one or two of her paintings, one of which I still have hanging in my house.  But the plot thickens....

One day I was visiting my brother and ON HIS LIVING ROOM WALL! was one of HER original paintings.  I recognized it immediately and he told me that they were friends and she had given him the painting!  

Years later he arranged for me to meet her (today!) and visit her studio on Lake Washington in Seattle.  So, after a decade of loving her work, I met the master : Leslie Sandbulte.

There is nothing like visiting another painters workspace to get you inspired to get to work yourself.  She works solely in oils, a medium I have yet to try.  But.... on my way home I stopped at Michaels Art Store and picked up a starter set of oils, some new brushes, a palette knife and a palette.

  I haven't a clue!  I had to look up what you use to thin the oils before you paint.  Not water, for sure!  I have a couple of projects I have to get done first but then I will play.  My hang-up with oils is the clean-up.  My "studio" is upstairs in my house with a guest bathroom as my clean-up zone which is not really a good setup for cleaning with turpentine.  But, I guess I will have to get less lazy and impose upon my garage for this.

I was SO EXCITED I sadly forgot to snap pictures of her studio.  
But I did get  this one which was another gift to my brother!  (Green.envy.is.not.a.pretty.color.on.me)

Oooolala, right?  I'd give my fourth born to paint like this.  (in case my 3 kids read my blog I have to be careful)

Here's another that I love that she has for sale at Mandeville Gallery in Kirkland, Washington.  Check her out on her website at http://lesliesandbulte.com.
Awesome stuff.   Her house and workspace inspired me more than any art museum.  

Anecdotal afterword:  After my visit I was on the phone with my daughter telling her about my day with Leslie.  She told me that she has been at her home before for a wedding shower for one of her good friends who happens to be the key model that Leslie has used in many of her paintings!  And... she has worked with one of Leslie's sons.  Crazy coincidences in this small, small world.