Art with a Message USA Tour Stops in Washington State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) October 4, 2009 -- An alpaca farm in the lush community of Monroe, Washington became one of the main Pacific Northwest stops of the Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist tour for visual artist, Leisa Collins, as she continued her journey to capture the "places, faces and homes of America on camera and on canvas."

The farm inspired Leisa to paint scenes of the beautiful mountain-flanked landscape. The majestic log farm house, Casa de Arboles, was also captured on canvas in a house portrait, commissioned by the owners. The journey, which started in Los Angeles three weeks ago and will end in New York in mid-October, marks the re-emergence of Leisa into the art world after two decades of global travels and social activism.

Leisa met her first alpaca on her visit to the farm. “I was astounded to find that each alpaca has its own unique personality,” said Leisa. “They are curious but dignified and I was inspired to create a painting to express this, placing them in the lush Washington environment where they obviously flourish.”

Before leaving Washington, the house portrait of the custom designed farmhouse was presented to owner Maggie DiUlio in her living room, with her stone and Juniper wood fireplace serving as the backdrop.

The USA tour has traveled 2,500 miles to date, with another 3,500 to go. Leisa’s focus today is on promoting art for change. She first launched her artistic career in New Zealand in 1976 after she abandoned formal art training and opted to learn her craft by capturing the beauty of the New Zealand wilderness on her canvas.

In addition to recording the scenic beauty and people of America in photos and paintings created during the road tour and promoted through the Art with a Message Blog, Leisa has given free art lessons to budding young artists along the tour route to raise awareness for children and art education. Leisa is partnered with Free Arts for Abused Children to get that message out across the country.

Leisa will next be traveling through Idaho, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa. Crossing to Illinois she will visit Chicago and move onto Lansing and Detroit in Michigan. Following will be Niagara Falls and the Pennsylvania cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia before reaching New York City.

A native of New Zealand, but international in scope, Leisa is now combining her activist and artistic skills under the motto "Art with a Message". Working mainly in acrylic and watercolors, Leisa is diversely skilled, painting landscapes, house portraits, face portraits and more, in both realistic and semi-abstract genres. She also works with other women artists and specializes in art for change projects. You will find the USA tour route under the Art in Action page of her www.leisacollins.com website. Her Art with a Message Blog, www.leisacollinsartwithamessage.blogspot.com, follows the action of the tour.

For more information contact Leisa at leisa@leisacollins.com, 517-763-8453.

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