Meet our artist, Kippi Leonard! Kippi’s vibrant aqueous surfaces are the results of pouring inks that have been custom mixed onto canvas, panel, and linen. The pouring process is her way of largely abandoning compositional control and remaining open to spontaneous occurrences with her work. Through color, luminosity and light reflection, her work provokes calm and, simultaneously, deep introspection. Inversely, her mixed media work is structural and largely black and white with expressive mark making and an occasional allusion of color. Both methods of creating reflect her veracious essence. After an extensive career in interior design, Kippi continues the exploration of materials through her experimental and abstract work in oil, encaustic, collage and watercolor.
A Pacific Northwest native, she now resides in Palm Desert, California a place that nurtures her comprehensive approach to creating art.
What do you first do when you get to the studio in the morning?
The first thing I do when I arrive at my studio each day is to turn on music, something that will influence the tone, composition, and mood of my current series of paintings.
“Down Streams” 
“Portrait With Shadow” 
“The End Of Our Expanding”
How many paintings do you work on at a time?
I typically work on 2-4 paintings at a time, with several in ink and a large acrylic mixed media.
Do you have a dream project that you would like to work on?
My current dream project has been opening my own studio/gallery/workshop space in Palm Desert where I live. There is a street revitalization program currently in construction where my studio is located which is being built to provide the community with an art scene, community events, music festivals, dining, and gathering. Its going to be amazing and I’d like to be involved in its vision and implementation.
If you could paint with anyone, who would it be?
I would have to go back in time. I just read the book “Ninth Street Women” by author Mary Gabriel. I could see myself painting for a day with Joan Mitchel or Grace Hartigan. Mostly, I’d like to be a part of their unapologetic gusty innovation in the post-war modern art world. Truly inspiring!
“Windswept” 
“Lost In You” 
“The Search”
What’s your favorite way of generating ideas and inspiration?
When my creative tank is nearing empty, a good adventure clears my mind and, being an amateur photographer, I always return with photo inspiration. Travel, hiking, visiting new out-of-the-way places of interest feeds my soul. Museum, gallery, and art shows always excite my brain and fuel me to start new pieces. Occasionally, a color I see somewhere in a crowd takes hold and a new idea begins to form.
“Midnight Sea I” 
“An Era” 
“Standing In The Rain” 
“Sound & Color” 
“Stories & Studies II” 
“Untitled”
How has your art evolved over time?
I experimented in so many mediums when I first started to learn about art and its creation. I found my voice in my ink work and in my mixed media work, and I’ve realized I cannot do everything but I can challenge myself within a few favorites. I am always trailblazing ways to use the inks. For me, it’s always being willing to risk. I love overcoming impossibility within my work.
What do you like most about your work?
I like how it evokes emotion in the viewers. I’m often being told stories of what a person sees within my work. A mother holding a child, a sunrise in the mountains, a female silhouette; that it resonates in their heart and mind; that they don’t want to look away. My story becomes part of their story when they bring my art into their home. I want to connect with people and this is the way I do that.
“Sand Dune Silhouette” 
“Paradise (Meet Me There)” 
“The Perfect Place”
What is one word that best describes your style?
Modern-Neutral
Is there an idea you would like to explore?
I have lots of ideas to explore. My current idea is blending contemporary elements with historical figures using my inks, collage, and acrylic in an abstract way.
What is your favorite time of day to paint?
It depends on what I’m painting. I work with inks early in the morning when I’m energized, as they require complete attention with music that is upbeat and I can dance in place a bit while waiting for the inks to dry. I work on my abstract mixed media pieces in the late afternoon and evenings, usually with soft jazz music playing.
Do you ever get “stuck” on a piece? If so, what do you do?
“Speak Life” 
“Past Clouds I” 
“Simple Yet Affecting” 
“My Every Impulse Bends To What Is Right” 
“Distant Somewhere”
I do get stuck and with those pieces I either push too far or they go in my “closet of unloved art” until a fresh idea hits me. Then I begin again and they evolve into some of my most favorite pieces. Occasionally, I have my husband look at a piece and give me his “feel”. It re-inspires me to go in a new direction or validates I’m on the right track and I just needed to push through.
What is up next on your easel?
Currently a 48 x 72″ ink piece for a commission is on the table and a new collage mixed media is on the easel waiting for the first brush stroke.
The images featured here are available in our Print-On-Demand collection. Some areas of our website are password-protected. If you are a member of the trade but don’t have full access to our website, www.thirdandwall.com, please contact us at customerservice@thirdandwall.com.
