LUXE MAGAZINE
Each Painting Begins On The Trail
For This Washington Artist
photo courtesy of Amber Fouts
“For Mount Vernon, Washington, artist Lesley Frenz, every painting begins on the trail. The devoted hiker spends her free time exploring the verdant wilderness near her home. While her abstract landscapes look like gauzy snapshots of nature, she is quick to point out they aren’t illustrations. “My paintings are interpretations of my experience with the natural world,” she says.
Before turning to painting full time in 2018, Frenz spent years in art-adjacent careers, keeping a small easel to dabble with her craft. It wasn’t until she and her husband began to explore the West that inspiration really hit. “I often sketch on the trail. It helps me notice the way the trees sit with the mountains or how water laps at the shore of a lake.” Sometimes, instead of sketching, she’ll simply write down what she experiences. “I bring all those thoughts back to the studio,” she says. “My paintings are emotional journeys into landscapes.”