a blog by Leslie A. Macfarlane
recent posts
Online Store Launch
My glass artwork is now officially available for purchase online: http://www.glassbyleslie.com
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on the winding road
Several years ago I read this quote by Joseph Campbell in the Brene Brown book Braving the Wilderness: “If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” I’ve…
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autumn, trees, and atlanta
This has been a beautiful Utah fall for me to enjoy while walking my dog each day. It’s gotten me thinking about autumns of years past, and recalling my time living in Atlanta after college. Before that, back when I was studying at BYU, the grad student from Georgia who was teaching my German class…
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upcoming debut at the Utah Art Market
I received notice a few weeks ago that I have been accepted to participate in this year’s Holiday Utah Art Market December 3-6 at the Town and Country Plaza in Millcreek, Utah. Participating in this market is an honor, and I hope to put my best foot forward. Taking lessons I learned from the Beehive…
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reaching
The central concept behind “Reaching” is to illustrate a long-term process of reaching for something higher — for help from a higher being, and for a higher version of yourself. Finding a way to express that concept beautifully in stained glass feels like a substantial achievement. The time spent in the design stage alone for…
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the business card art show at the JKR Gallery
In September I will be participating in the annual Business Card Art show at the JKR Gallery in Provo, Utah. For this show, each accepted artist can display up to 10 artworks that are the size of a business card: 2 x 3.5 inches. I enjoyed designing and assembling my 10 pieces, and am excited…
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in returning and rest
The title for this piece comes from a scripture that stood out to me recently: “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength,” Isaiah 30:15. From the beginning this piece has had a feeling of safety and of being at home for me, so the scriptural…
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working on something fun
A long-lasting arm injury has really slowed down my art production in the past year. As frustrating as it has been, I have a hunch that slowing down so much might have some payoffs. My ideas for the painting I’m working on definitely developed as I inched from one step to the next at a…
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exploring Adobe Illustrator
I wanted to get to know this software a little bit so I signed up for a free trial and spent some time exploring.
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copy of Woman in Black
This is my copy of Gabriele Munter’s painting, Woman in Black. Something that drew me to this piece was how there seemed to be a softness in the eyes, even though they’re kind of just blobs of black paint. I wanted to learn how Munter could capture something as refined as a soft look in…
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studying Slobodkin’s illustrations
I love this illustration from the book The Hundred Dresses (page 14). The original artist, Louis Slobodkin, actually studied as a sculptor before finding his way into illustration. I had to warm up with a colored pencil sketch and then a still-not-very-precise study before I was ready to try copying the whole illustration. My final…
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cicero the cat
Meet Cicero, my cat. The day I started this I was full of disappointment about a different piece, so I decided to start pouring all that energy into something new. It started with a sketch in pastel pencils and grew into a cozy-feeling oil painting. This is my second no-gesso painting. Oil on hardboard, 11×14…
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davinci face copy
This is my work so far on an assignment to hand draw a copy of a DaVinci drawing. It is painstaking work. And for the next step I’m supposed to make second copy, this time without looking at the reference while I draw! I can look at the reference before I draw, and I can…
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portrait in red and green
This is my interpretation of a portrait done by Gabriele Munter, one of my favorite painters. To imitate her style of painting on un-gessoed cardboard, I painted this on the un-gessoed back-side of hardboard. The texture is a little intense so next time I’ll try sanding the surface before painting. But other than that, I…
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about me
In the fall of 2018 I started devoting time to drawing and painting, which set me on a path I couldn’t have imagined for myself. I currently work exclusively in stained glass. I have studied with the JKR Studio Academy and with Holdman Studios and Glass Art Institute.
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mind and heart 