Portrait of an Artist: Sharon Leichsenring of Leichsenring Studios

ARTISAN: Sharon Leichsenring of Leichsenring Studios

Leichsenring Studios was founded by Sharon Leichsenring after a 25-year career in the commercial sign industry. Since then, her company has garnered the 2004 National First Place Grand Prize in the Decorative Painting division from the competition sponsored by American Painting Contractors and the Honorable Mention prize in 2005. In 2008, she was the top name in decorative painting by the American Painting Contractor’s list, “Who’s Who in the Decorative Painting Industry 2008″. She has been a member of Salon since 2003 and was recently featured as a guest muralist in Gary Lord’s latest book “Mural Painting Secrets for Success”.

Talking about her work she muses, “When you start a second career path at a certain age, you realize how important time is. I found myself exploring new workshops to learn how to manipulate new products. Becoming a teacher also helped because not only do I get a chance to share my methods of mural design and painting as well as understanding trompe l’oeil, I get to exchange ideas and new faux finishes with students across the country.” She adds, “I firmly believe that every job I complete represents me and each deserves the same attention to detail, research and execution. I keep in mind an answer a designer once shared with me, when a client remarked that she would love to have the mural we were proposing, but it was, after all, only for her bathroom. She commented that the work doesn’t know where it lives. Its purpose was to bring satisfaction wherever it ended up. I ended up doing the full mural and the owner agrees it was the right call.”

Leichsenring Studios works throughout Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield counties in Connecticut and into Westchester County in New York. Out-of-area commissions are also accepted.

The following are some visuals of her work and after that, our online interview continues.

How do you creatively approach every new commission?
I am a bookaholic. There’s no other way to describe it. When a commission for a mural is in place, the first thing I do is to take the necessary luxury of paging through dozens of books. My top 75 or so go-to books always have something that sparks a thought. Sometimes, it becomes clear I’m going down the wrong path but other times some seemingly insignificant detail starts a whole new thought wave.

What is the range of your clientele?
With the exception of a few restaurants, most of my work is residential. I have spent as much as 8 1/2 months in one (very large) home. I have also had clients where I keep returning year after year to add my touch to another area. In between, there is sometimes the small strie that will change a room for its owner.

What are some misconceptions about decorative painting that you encounter?
I am always astounded that homeowners think that faux finishing is so easy and that products available to them are no different than those designed for the industry. I also see many poorly done murals and after listening to the homeowner tell me how disappointed they are, come to find out that that the homeowner was not shown a finished composition before agreeing to the project. I think, as an industry, we need to do everything we can to keep things professional, which includes getting samples signed off.

In your travels, what have been some of the most inspiring spaces you’ve seen that had decorative painting?
To date, the most beautiful example of trompe l’oeil painting was the drawing room at Mottisfont Abbey in England, painted by Rex Whistler in the 1930s. My only regret was that no cameras were allowed. The good news was that those I was traveling with gave me all the time to examine literally, foot by foot, every piece of gorgeous work.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you have received?
In a nutshell: Remember, this is a business. It means not to get overly invested with clients during a project. It means to treat yourself as a professional when it comes to calculating the value of your work. I admit, I never like the business portion of my work but that’s what keeps us going. We do have a responsibility to remember that every good business has a sound plan and use the proper tools of contracts and good conduct.

What advice would you offer to aspiring decorative artists?
1- Keep a camera with you always.
2- Develop a way of organizing your morgue file (pages you rip from magazines, junk mail, etc.)
3- Practice always.

It was such a pleasure to kick off our Portrait of the Artist with Ms. Leichsenring — as you can see, she has stunning work. Thanks to the Leichsenring Studios website, I also learned what the term “maquette” means. (You’ll have to go there to find out!) There are more breathtaking pictures to be found and further information as well. I hope you’ve enjoyed the profile — the next one is in about three weeks and it will take us to a visit across the country. Be sure to look for it!