Lel Newman Artist

Modern New Media Abstracts

Lel’s Blog

Hello and welcome! Here you'll find news and musings about art, inspiration, and upcoming shows. I'm a currently a participant in the Bainbridge Island Winter Studio Tour.

Art Fundraiser!

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2020 is a year for the history books: global pandemic, Black Lives Matter awakening and a democracy-on-the-line election in the US. It’s a tragic and desperate time for many. I want to do something helpful and hopeful. I’m not an essential worker. I have the luxury to work from home with lots of space and nature around me. I’m humbly grateful for my circumstances. So…

30% to CAMFED and OneGoal

Now and through the end of the year, I will donate 30% of proceeds from my art print sales to organizations that make the world a better place. Funds will be split between CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education in Africa) and OneGoal – Helping close the college divide in the United States. Both organizations transform lives and create long-term progress through education. I learned about these organizations from Nicholas Kristof’s NYTimes “Gifts that Change Lives”article. Every year he produces a holiday guide suggesting “gifts with meaning” and awards his Holiday Impact Prize to organizations that make big impacts for good. They receive matching funding and lots of visibility. Below are excerpts…

CAMFED

Educate a girl. My grand prize winner is Camfed (originally called the Campaign for Female Education), which helps girls in African countries get an education. One of the world’s best bargains is the chance to help a girl go to school in a country like Ghana, Malawi or Zimbabwe: A year in high school costs $150, elementary school about $30.

— Nicholas Kristof

OneGoal

Send a young person to college. Another prize winner is OneGoal, which mentors low-income students in the United States, helping them graduate from high school and succeed in college. OneGoal ensures that Black lives matter: 96 percent of participants are students of color, and it provides a bridge for them to complete high school and get a solid start in college.

— Nicholas Kristof

If you’re considering adding art to your walls, this is a win-win. If not, please consider donating or volunteering for organizations listed at Kristoffimpact.org. 

Thanks for reading. Be well.

MidMod Shapemaking Set of 3

Special set of three limited edition fine art prints. 7″ x 7” image size (8.5″ x 11″ sheet size). Easily fits in standard frames.

$135.00 $90.00
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100 Days of Shapemaking – 2020 COVID edition

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This year I completed my third 100 day project, creating and posting artwork on Instagram. After skipping it in 2019, I felt a void. The project keeps me making. It allows time to tune out distractions – focus only on space, edges, flat fields, the sense of tension, and dimension. I started April 8, 2020, a day after the official start of the 100 Day Project. Previously, in 2017 & 2018, I completed the project exactly in 100 days. Not this go-round. Pandemic in process, I gave myself a lot of slack. With my day job keeping me busier than ever, fitting in art-making every consecutive day was adding too much pressure. I wanted to be easier on myself. Mental and physical health during this time of the Pandemic is precious and requires effort. Sadly also during this time, my Mother-in-law became ill and passed away. Not to COVID, but cancer. It was shockingly fast, and we miss her very much.

So when it was too much I skipped days and ultimately I finished no. 100 on August 14.

More minimal

Grid of nine abstract bold shapemaking images by Leslie Newman
Shapemaking 2020 No. 83 thru 91 (July 27 – August 5)

The world was/is on edge, agitated, and overwhelming, so I seek simplicity and refuge. When creating the 2020 series, I pared down to essentials, worked with just one color plus black and grays, and limited the shapes. In my toolbox are edges, flat fields, space, and tension. The process is carving and molding shapes and negative space to create something out of nothing. They nudge the brain to see dimension in a flat surface and the eye to explore form and space. Take a breath. Stir something indescribable. Calming or invigorating? Curiously satisfying. 

Community support

When you post your work on Instagram, you get instant gratification. (And that’s not always a bad thing, right? 😉 Art people are kind and generous. Truly, engagement and comments provide energy to keep creating. It feels good to be putting something out there. I know my work’s not for everyone. And it pleases me that I really don’t care about that. I want to satisfy myself and create an expression that is unique to me.

COVID and Black Lives Matter

The intensity of the year can’t go unmentioned (and it’s not over yet.) While the pandemic rages, the horrific deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other BIPOC at the hands of police push us towards a reckoning. America begins to wake up and starts calling out racial injustice and systemic racism. Many white Americans look in the mirror and join in the mourning and protests. There’s a glimmer of hope that we can pull together, face reality, and make progress. It’s a task that has no end. And after the close election results, it’s clear we indeed have a very long way to go. It’s heartbreaking all around.

So it goes. I’ll keep making art and strive to stay hopeful. Be well

To commemorate this series, I’ve produced three affordable, 13″ x 19″ inch mini-posters. 

Bainbridge Island Winter Studio Tour Dec. 6-8, 2019

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It’s the start of the busy, busy season. Lots of fun, socializing, eating, and squeezing in work when you can. I’m happily prepping for the Bainbridge Island Studio Tour, happening the first weekend in December. I’m framing up my limited edition abstract paintings and Shapemaking prints. If you’re in the area, consider getting out of the house and taking the tour. It’s a fun way to explore Bainbridge Island and get in the holiday spirit. There are 56 Artists at 8 venues.

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Our first open studio

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Fernwoods Studios Art in the Woods
Tim’s shop was transformed for Art in the Woods
  • Open studio art show
  • Abstract painting in an open studio
My work hanging along with my husband Tim Celeski’s woodworking

We were happy to see so many folks make the trek to Indianola and up Fern Street during the Art in the Woods Studio Tour Nov. 8-10. After living in here for over 11 years, we’re accustomed to the long dirt road drive, but it’s an adventure for many. Yes, Fernwoods Studios is “Art in the Woods”, literally!

Western sword ferns on Fern Street
Fern Street, Indianola, Washington, USA

Thanks to all who came by, including former West Seattle neighbors, dear friends and family, and a favorite high school teacher I hadn’t seen since that time! It was a pleasure for us to see you all and to meet the many folks who regularly do the tour. Once the memory of all the heavy lifting fades, we’ll very likely decide to do it again next year. It was a good time.

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What’s so funny about peace love and understanding?

— Nick Lowe