A Rare Original

Maybe something lighter today, to follow Nathaniel's post?

We love artwork, especially original artwork ~ one of a kind pieces that you won't find duplicates of at Target or Ikea.

(Sidenote: Now, I love Target and Ikea. Design for all ~ it's a great idea and I respect that. But when you walk into someone's home and see the same artwork on the wall that you see in our assistant's college dorm room, it's kind of weird. At some point, I mean... don't people move on from mass-produced art & plastic picture frames?)

Anyhow, original artwork. Something truly one-of-a-kind. You just don't see much of that anymore, so when it appears right in front of you, it's pretty astounding. Like Leah MacDonald from Philadelphia. Leah is a fine artist who does encaustic wax paintings on photographs. Sounds incredible, right? Oh yea, it is beyond incredible.

We first saw Leah's mixed media work earlier this year at a photography seminar. It was at once haunting and breath-taking. Weeks went by and neither of us could forget her work. We both kept coming back to it, talking about it, looking at it online. We had to buy some of her pieces and even moreso, we wanted to offer them to our clients.

Encaustic wax painting is an ancient art, originally dating back to Greece around 800 B.C., and also has history in Roman and Egyptian cultures. Leah's process begins with a photograph that is transferred onto either wood, steel, plexiglass or heavyweight art papers. From there, she coats it in organic beeswax and the piece is washed in oil paints with a variety of techniques and sometimes she even carves into the wax. The combination of creative mediums is imaginative, moody and evocative -- a blend of ancient mystery and modern cool. Truly the work of an artist. And each piece is one of a kind ~ completely unique.

You can see Leah's work at Galerie BMG and Rodger Lapelle Galleries. Or here, at balance. We proudly offer our images to you, as artwork by Leah. While these pieces, known as Waxworks, aren't for everyone, they are extremely powerful, bold and will certainly appeal to discriminating, creative people. Leah's vision can reinterpret an already beautiful image and take it to the next level. We think they have to be experienced in person to really appreciate the depth & artistry of the medium. So stop by and check it out.

Welcome, Leah, to balance. We are proud to offer your beautiful artwork to our clients!
~ Rissa