Leeann Lidz
about the artist
My first memory of "art" was at four years old on a trip to the Brooklyn Children's Museum with my mother. I was fascinated by the color wheel that I could spin until the colors blurred to white. I remember coming home and looking at the landscape paintings my parents bought when they first married (and I still have) that graced our apartment walls. Although I didn't know or understand my own talent at that time, I nevertheless entertained the dream of being an artist.
That dream did not materialize until I was a young adult and spent three weeks in Amsterdam. Inspired by the fabulous Van Goghs and Rembrandts, I bought a sketchbook and pencils and began drawing. When I returned to California several months later, I took a job as a housekeeper for a very ill "bohemian artist in the Berkeley Hills" named Baila Feldman. In the last four months of her life, Baila shared with me her passion for painting as well as the skills she possessed as a gifted artist. She encouraged me to paint and I immediately fell in love.
Since then, in addition to raising three wonderful children and working full-time, I have painted in many magnificent locations, including Central and South America, Italy, the western United States, Alaska and Hawaii. Due to an innate curiosity and steady flow of energy, I have experimented with different media and subject matter, as you may have noticed when you toured my gallery. I discovered my gift for inspiring children and taught Kids' Arts classes for many years in Ventura County.
I never abandoned my dream of being a full-time artist and now as I enter retirement, I look forward to painting more, exploring new media and teaching art to my grandchildren and others. I reside in Occidental, California with my two dogs.
For more information including education, public art projects, and exhibitions, please see my formal resume.
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