Leslie Elder: "4,000 Miles" Portraits

This is one of of several portraits Leslie has on display at Artist Repertory Theatre in downtown Portland. The show has been juried and curated by Geezer Gallery and opens May 7th at 6:45 pm.  As mentioned in previous posts, the art in the show is based on themes in the current play "4000 Miles." The subject of this beautiful portrait is Sonia Liberman, mother-in-law of ORA artist Esther Liberman. 

All the artists in the show read the play, used their imaginations, and created art to reflect the characters and/or themes of the play. Leslie says "I wanted a strong woman with a gleam in her eye to represent Vera, one of the leading characters in the play."

Come to our opening on May 7th and meet Sonia (the model), Leslie (the artist), and Vera (the portrait).   Buy tickets to the play and meet Vera, the character."

Edited May 8th: model, artist, and portrait came together at our opening reception last night!

Leslie Elder returns with new works of art!

If you scroll through this blog you will see many posts about Leslie. She is a water colorist who often can be found out in nature. She is an avid walker, cyclist and of course, painter!

Leslie paints judaic and secular themes, portraits that tell stories, as well as local flora and fauna.

If you stop by her booth space at Celebration of Art you will be greeted with a warm smile and a ready answer to any of your questions about her art. You'll find a wide selection of paintings to choose from. 

                            November 3rd 2013
                  MJCC 6651 SW Capitol Hwy- Portland
                         10:30-4:30    free admission

New Exhibit at the J!

The final exhibit in this month's rotation was mounted today at MJCC. It features the works of Shemaya Blauer, Glenn Decherd, Leslie Elder, Esther Liberman, and Eddy Shuldman.

Come by and see the familiar lobby of Mittleman adorned with paintings, glasswork, pottery and beadwork. Of course, there's no admission fee... just come in and browse. (And maybe grab a nosh or a latte at Cafe at the J.)

But come quick... the show is only on display until Friday afternoon. Enjoy!

Art On Broadway

pictured (back row l to r) Sharon Segal, Laurie Fendel, Diane Fredgant, Leslie Elder,

(front row l to r) Eddy Shuldman, Esther Liberman

Our membership chair and photographer/historian, Ellen Shefi captured this fun shot of some of the showing artists at Art on Broadway in Beverton! It was a fun evening!

The show continues through December 29...just in case you want to spend a little Chanukah gelt on some art!

Leslie Elder and Emunah Noa !

Leslie Elder (above) is a founding member of ORA. Her watercolors reflect her passion for representing jewish life as well as scenes from nature. In this picture Fred Harwin and Leslie are discussing her display at the Celebration of Art.

Emunah Noa (left) works with ceramics and creates beautiful ritual objects. This was her first experience with Celebration of Art and we were happy to have her in our show.

Photo credits go to Ellen Shefi, ORA member and photographer.

Leslie Elder Explores the Work of Women

Leslie has a knack for capturing the soul of her subjects.

Pictured is a watercolor entitled: The Fruit of Her Hands- one of a series of paintings of women.

One of ORA's founding members, Leslie has tremendous energy. Her paintings are vibrant and soulful.

On October 30th you will have the opportunity to see Leslie's newest collection of work. Celebration of Art '11 will run all day from 10:30-4:30 in the MJCC ballroom- 6651 SW Capitol HWY, Portland-OR.

Admission is free...the deli will be open for business...and the art!!!!!....OY, the ART! Over 20 artists will fill the room with new works. Bring some friends and take an art adventure with us!

Our Latest Exhibit

You know how, after awhile, exhibits kind of look the same? Well, in this case, it doesn't! We all dropped off our artwork at Neveh Shalom and departed. Then our two curators too over and created a completely new exhibit in about an hour. When we came back to pick up whatever they didn't use, it was amazing! The new show looks so very different... and really beautiful!

This exhibit includes the work of: Shemaya Blauer, Leslie Elder, Laura Joy Fendel, Diane Fredgant, Esther Liberman, Sharon Segal, Ellen Shefi, Eddy Shuldman, Diana Unterspan, and Sabina Wohlfeiler.

Kudos to Laurie Fendel and Sabina Wohlfeiler for doing such a great job with this.

Everyone should come by and take a look. This exhibit will be up until late October, in the lobby of the main entrance of Neveh Shalom. Nothing's for sale... just come and enjoy.

Congregation Neveh Shalom
2900 Peaceful Way
Portland, OR 97239

What's In A Name?

It was my job to print up labels for our new "Gateways" exhibit at Neveh Shalom. Each artist sent me the titles of the works they were submitting, as well as the medium, and perhaps a brief explanation of the connection between the work and the Gateways theme. It was a most interesting process, because I was not seeing the actual works. My imagination was going a little crazy, trying to imagine what these pieces might look like.

Consider this example. Leslie Elder had a piece called "Smoothing Out The Wrinkles." I knew it was a watercolor painting, but had no idea what it looked like. Her info talked about the "Eyshet Chayil" blessing, and how a husband's reputation is partly based on the good deeds of his wife. I couldn't imagine what it might look like!

So it was with great curiosity that I showed up on Monday for the set-up of this exhibit. I looked for Sharon Segal's "Separate But Equal???" and Laura Joy's "Doorways of Choice", Ellen Shefi's "Ice Puddle" and Shemaya Blauer's "Releasing What Is Known." And I looked for Leslie's 3 pieces.

In each case, I was blown away! This is such a powerful gathering of theme-based works! I think I'm not going to tell you what Leslie's painting looks like, because you have to see it for yourself. When you see the three paintings together, and read her thoughts on them, you may experience the exquisite lump-in-the-throat that I did.

You will get goose bumps when you see Laura Joy's fabric sculpture, and you will feel the most beautiful serenity looking at Eddy Shuldman's "Wanderings" Seder Plate juxtaposed with Diane Fredgant's painted silk wall hanging "L'Dor vaDor." You will recognize the family history behind Barbara Berger's two gateway photos. And much more.

The exhibit is on display through the end of May. Come to services, or any activity, or just drop by during the day and ring the buzzer to be let in. You'll be glad you did!

"Gateways"
a theme-based exhibit of artwork by ORA artists
at Congregation Neveh Shalom
2900 SW Peaceful Lane
Portland, OR 97239
503.246.8831

LESLIE ELDER: water colors and more!

There is a spiritual and soulful essence to the work Leslie Elder creates. She is a founding member of ORA Northwest Jewish Artists. Her talent continues to grow and develop.

You'll discover extraordinary landscapes and culture-scapes in addition to portraitures.

COME see Leslie and 24 other talented artists at the Celebration of Art 2010!

WHERE? I'm glad you asked!

MJCC 5561 SW Capitol HWY

WHEN?

Sunday Oct 24th 10am-4pm

HOW MUCH? well, the entry fee is.............FREE....FREE....FREE....FREE....FREE....FREE....!

we want you to spend your money on ART!

A Celebration of Art

SAVE THE DATE! The greater Portland community is once again invited to shop at A Celebration of Art 2010 ("CoA"). This is a one day event running from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm on Sunday, October 24th. We will proudly feature the work of 25 local Jewish artists!

Shoppers can expect high quality art and fine crafts. Prices are reasonable and art lovers can feel good about supporting local artists!

In its fifth year, the art sale will again be held in the MJCC ballroom.

ORA members Leslie Elder, Susan Kuznitzky, Sharon Segal and Sabina Wohlfeiler will exhibit new paintings.
Paintings and ceramics will fill Robin Esterkin's space.
Ellen Shefi has new photography and manipulated imagery for sale.
Three-dimensional artwork will include Esther Liberman's beadwork, Eddy Shuldman's fused glass & Judaica art, Laura Fendel's functional fabric sculptures and Julie Hockley's precious metal jewelry creations.

Our next blog entry will release the names of this year's guests artists. Stay tuned, as the excitement builds!

Leslie Elder Exhibit in Seattle

Leslie Elder has an exhibit of about 17 paintings at a salon in Seattle called Essence a Chic Coiffure.

The exhibit opened on March 7th and will hang for 3 months. Leslie attended the opening, and got a great response. If you're in Seattle, stop in and see this one-woman show. And if you need a haircut, how about a day trip??

We're JAMmin'

Okay friends, here it is..... the whole scoop on everything happening during Jewish Arts Month (JAM). You can view it in two different formats.







1. Calendar grid which shows the dates & locations of all the events:
northwestjewishartists.org/JAMcalendar2010.html


2. Detailed schedule, including dates, times, locations, descriptions, admission prices and contact information:
northwestjewishartists.org/JAMschedule2010.html

Thanks to everyone on the JAM committee, especially Eddy, for tireless input and eagle-eyed tweaking of these pages. And kudos to Leslie Elder for the gorgeous painting "Fiddle Fantasy," which is the basis for this year's JAM poster.


Want more background information about JAM? Check out the JAM blog:
jewishartsmonth.blogspot.com/


See you all on Feb 24th at the "Pre-JAM-Slam"!!
.

Leslie Scores a GOAAAAALLL!!!

Leslie Elder's painting, "Go for the Goal" was recently juried into the Watercolor Society of Oregon's Fall show, on exhibit this month in McMinnville. There were 80 watercolor paintings juried into the show. Out of the 80 paintings, 20 were chosen to receive awards. Leslie's painting received an award and will be one of 20 award-winning paintings from the show to tour the state of Oregon in the coming year, exhibiting in various galleries aroung the state.

Leslie is excited to have her painting touring the state, and we are incredibly proud of her. The paintings are all for sale. For more info, check out www.watercolorsocietyoforegon.com. Come see the exhibit: it's at the IMAX theater in McMinnville this month, and at Currents Gallery in November. It's a beautiful exhibit.

Plein Air Painting

Leslie Elder writes:

This Summer I have been enjoying getting outside doing a bit of plein air painting. Plein air means fresh air (or something like that) in French. It started with a workshop with oil painter Aimee Erickson (Multnomah Art Center) doing plein air oil painting for 3 days in Multnomah Village.

I used my portable french easel and set up in the village to paint with oil for the first time. About ten artists scattered across the village to record the scene, much to the delight (or amusement, in some cases) of passersby. Oil paint is great to use for plein air painting because it is slow to dry. Although I am mainly a watercolor painter, I was eager to try out my oils in this setting. Watercolors dry so quickly out in the open air, they are more of a challenge to use outside, especially in warm weather.

It's hard to go back into my studio with the weather continuing to be so fine. Yesterday, I went with my Watercolor Society of Oregon critique group to paint up in the Columbia Gorge. They didn't seem to mind that I painted with oils.

One of my favorite painters, Eric Wiegardt, said at a workshop once, that painting plein air is a good way to fill up your creative well. If you paint from photos too much, after awhile your 'well' can become dry because you have to work to create excitement in your your painting. When you paint from life, the excitement flows naturally from your subject matter.

Leslie's Stuff at the Stafford

Last Friday I went to the reception for the opening of Leslie Elder's exhibit at The Stafford in Lake Oswego. She and another doctor are exhibiting their paintings on the walls of this beautiful retirement facility.

What a kick! Walking down the hall, I could see Leslie's paintings hanging on the wall straight ahead of me. Since I have worked with some of these images extensively for our website, I felt like I was greeting familiar old friends. But there was also the instant thrill of seeing new works which I haven't seen before! And the works of Dr. Rudy Stevens were, of course, new to me, and totally delightful. Plus there was wine and cheese... what could be bad??

If you didn't go on Friday, you missed out on the wine and cheese part, and also getting to see Leslie and her new super-sleek motorized cart. But you can still drop by for the next 4 weeks, and see some marvelous paintings! I recommend it.

I also think it would be a nice place for all of our ORA painters to exhibit in the future.

The Stafford
1200 Overlook Drive
(across the street from Lakeridge High)
Lake Oswego, Oregon
(503)636-4589

Watercolor Exhibit

The watercolor paintings of our own Leslie Elder will be on display for a month at The Stafford, a retirement community in Lake Oswego.

This is a special exhibit unofficially called "Two Docs Do Art," featuring Leslie's work, and that of another retired doctor, Rudy Stevens.

There will be an opening reception on Friday, Feb. 27th from 3:30 to 6pm, and then the exhibit will hang until March 27th. Drop by any time during regular daytime hours to see some inspiring paintings!

The Stafford
1200 Overlook Drive
Lake Oswego, Oregon
(503)636-4589
(877) 636-4589

The Gift

Leslie Elder writes:

I had started to feel a bit constricted by watercolor, like a horse wanting to bust out of the stall and gallop around a bit. I thought I might go back to my old friend, acrylic paint. I'd used acrylics a lot in the past. Looking around for my old tubes of acrylic, I couldn't find them anywhere. They probably dried out and I must have thrown them away, I thought.

Then I fantasized about trying oils, something I'd never done, except once when I was a child. But then the economy took a dive, and I figured I shouldn't go out and invest a lot of money at Art Media on a new paints. After all, I still had a pretty good supply of watercolor.

Then one day, while looking still further for those darned acrylic paints, I found a stash of my grandmother's 40+ year old oil paints in an old box. I squeezed the tubes gently and knew that they were still good! I had carted that box through all of our moves, but had never seriously examined it because I don't paint with oils. Now, I realized this might be the answer.

I started looking at the paints and realized that I had a treasure of oil paint, enought to last me for some time! I felt my grandmother's presence as I looked over the gift she had left me, silently sending her my love and gratitude and knowing that she was thrilled to be able to share the paint with me at last. She had loved art, and had always encouraged me in my artistic endeavors. What a blessing! I signed up for a studio oil painting portrait class (with models) at Multnomah Art Center. Who knows what will come of this wonderful gift?

Leslie Does It Again!

Our wonderful painter Leslie Elder let it slip that her watercolor painting
"Tea with Iris" has been juried into the Fall Watercolor Society of Oregon show. The show will be at the Events Center in Florence, Oregon and will open October 4th from 4:30-5:30pm. The show will hang until October 29th.

For further info about the show and the Watercolor Society, visit their website: www.watercolorsocietyoforegon.com

Of course, if you can't get out to Florence, you can come see lots of Leslie's beautiful paintings at our CELEBRATION OF ART on October 12th!! As you know by now, it will be held at from 10 am - 4 pm at MJCC. See you there!

Always Learning

ORA member Leslie Elder is currently attending a watercolor class with nude models at Multnomah Art Center in Portland. This term the class is taught by Carol Humpage. "Painting with a live model, working quickly," Leslie says, "is great to loosen up my style. I'm really pleased with what it's doing for my artwork. The loosening effect flows over into my non-figurative work. Most recently I've been doing florals, because I have so many flowers in my yard now, and I have been applying the same loose, quick style that I use when working with the models in class."

"I would highly recommend working with live models to all painters. I go to Multnomah Art Center because they have sessions during the day on weekdays, which are good for me. Many of the classes there are more on the beginners level. Other studios that I have heard are good are: Hipbone Studios, as well as PNCA which has open studio sessions. The contact number for the sessions at PNCA is 503-659-4261."

Let's hear your Comments: what class(es) are you taking? What kind of art class has been most helpful or meaningful to you? Inquiring minds want to know!

Website Update

What's New? Well, Sharon, Sabina, Leslie, Lynn, Laurie, Eddy & Rosana all have newly updated pages on our website. Take a look! (Click on link below.)

www.northwestjewishartists.org/artists