Leslie Watkins
A pleasant, engaging personality, a plethora of talent and a patient willingness to pass on her skills to others have paved the way for fine art artist Leslie Watkins, who makes her home at the evocatively named Dandelion Cottage in Norfolk—a one-acre experiment in living off the land.
There, in her whimsically described “Garden of Eatin,’” she finds much of the inspiration needed to nourish her artistic life—a connection to the cycle of life, the beauty of her gardens—veggies, herbs and flowers—and the amusing companionship of her flock of Bantam chickens.
“I am a painter who loves nature, or maybe a naturalist who loves to paint,” she says in her artist’s statement. “(I am) a student of color, design, light and shade and their interaction with texture and form. I take pleasure in contemplating nature at length and in depth.”
Watkins studied at the Art Students League of New York where she learned the prismatic palette, alla prima (wet on wet) painting, and techniques of the Old Masters. Today, she is a plein-air landscape painter who uses oil sketches made in the field to inform later studio compositions in which she attempts to capture a sense of place and the quality of the light.
But, that is today and, like all artists, she had to first find her niche, establishing her credentials in the hurly-burly of the commercial art world. As a young artist, she sought design jobs creating greeting cards to put herself through art school in New York City.
“My first job was with Tiffany & Company,” she said. “From there, a lot of other designers took me under their wing and encouraged me to get out there.”
Watkins innately understood the need to make herself stand out from the crowd and she thought back to the boxes she and her great aunt used to make. “For my first interview, I thought I would make something so nice they would keep it out where they could see it,” she said. “So, I hand-made boxes and painted images on the sides and put my contact information on the bottom.”
At the end of her interview at Dover Books, she presented the then-owners, Hayward and Blanche Cirker, with a box to keep. “I thought they would put paper clips in and not forget me. Mrs. Cirker handed it to her husband with a knowing look. A week later, they asked if I would design a book for them of boxes. Right out of the gate, my first design commission was a box deal. I considered fine art my main direction but this other stuff was something I really enjoyed.”
And she still enjoys it today and offers classes throughout the region for those who like to learn to design their own cards and seasonal accents.
“I have been teaching for thirty years,” she said, “and have gained a lot of insight into instructing in art. More often than not, people say, ‘I don’t have talent.’ It’s a belief they have that they can’t do it. I have found I can get anyone started on the right foot so they can make something beautiful. Cards are perfect for people who would like to do something creative without spending a lot of money and a great way for me to work with them. After they have had some instruction they say, ‘I love this. I thought it would be so hard.’”
She has a series of four adult paper-crafting classes planned for The Hub in the center of Norfolk, starting October 26th with the theme of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Designed to be easy enough for beginners, the session offers the chance to produce autumn-themed cards, treat boxes and place cards. Participants will take home four different projects.
The second session, on November 2nd and again simple enough for beginners, will produce four different Christmas cards created with stamps and watercolors. It will be followed on November 23rd by a session creating Christmas boxes and tags. Each participant will learn heat embossing and die cutting and will take home two boxes and two tags.
Finally, on December 14th, the group will create fancy gift boxes, learning box-building basics and decorating them with an assortment of materials.
The materials fee, which includes everything needed, is $35 for each class or $99 for all four. Preregistration is required. Call 860-542-3920 for further information or email her at leslie@lesliewatkinsdesign.com.
“One class builds on the other, but people don’t have to do all four,” Watkins said, “If they sign up for all four, it only costs $99. These are super-fun classes with lots of stuff to use. By the time we go through all the classes, they will have a well-rounded concept of paper crafting and tools.
“My main interest is encouraging people to come,” she continued. “The classes are appropriate for beginners and experienced artists. I will go over things thoroughly, but then people are free to chat and to follow my instructions or make up their own. It’s very casual.”
She said pre-registration allows her to prepare materials for the class and with proper notification she can work with up to 15 people. “There is a great big monitor at The Hub, so I can sit and explain what I am doing and they can see it on the monitor.”
Watkins has taught at the Wethersfield Academy for the Arts, The Lyme Art Association, the Washington Art Association, the Garrison Art Center in New York, the Berkshire Botanical Garden, the Housatonic Valley Art League and at Noble Horizons in Salisbury.
Other than the holiday craft sessions in Norfolk, she is offering “Crafty Café” sessions on the third Monday of each month at 10AM at the Berkshire Country Store, next to The Hub. The sessions are free “and hilarious,” according to the artist. Participants can bring their own materials or use some she provides.
On November 9th, at 2PM, she will conduct a Library After Hours, where participants will learn to paint holly sprigs that they can incorporate into holiday cards, paper and the like.
And finally, she will conduct an open studio at Whiting Mills in Winsted on December 7th and 8th where she will demonstrate how to make fancy art journals.
“After all this activity, I will buckle down and disappear in January and February to complete a series of online courses. That’s my great big project that I have been working on for a year. I have a website, lesliewatkinsdesign.com, that is still under construction but people can see bits and pieces of it. People will be able to view the courses there.”
Watkins’ own botanical watercolors and nature studies have decorated note cards, placemats, textiles, Battersea enamel boxes and educational materials. Her illustrations have appeared internationally on postage stamps, and in books and magazines. Clients include Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Tiffany & Co., Caspari, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Nickelodeon.
