We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Wendy Leiser . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Wendy below.

Hi Wendy, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

As far as risk taking, I think going up in a glider with my then boyfriend (now husband ) was terrifying. Being thousands of feet up in the air without an engine is a scary prospect and my heart was pounding until we were up there, and I realized I should enjoy the quiet and the view. It was breathtaking. But I was happy to land in one piece. It taught me a lesson about taking chances and realizing that the beauty and excitement could be the payoff. In my art the biggest risk I took was to enter my first juried exhibition. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about being rejected and it turned out that my piece was accepted after all! And I learned after that even if my work was rejected it didn’t mean there was anything wrong with it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a native New Yorker born and raised in Manhattan. It’s a wonderful place to grow up if you love art. My family and I spent time in museums and art shows. I’ve been drawing and painting and making art since childhood. I went to the High School of Art & Design and Hunter College where I got my BA in Painting and Fine Art. I studied painting at the National Academy School where I met my wonderful instructor and mentor Dan Gheno and I earned my certificate in painting there. I still take classes with him at the Art Students League. I was priveleged to take workshops with Wolf Kahn, Everett Raymond Kinstler and others. I’ve exhibited at the National Academy, the Cork Gallery in Lincoln Center, the Linus Gallery in Pasadena, the Sonia Gechtoff Gallery in New York and the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I’m still learning about growing my clientele but the best advice I can give is to put yourself out there. Apply to shows, join art organizations, be on social media and take classes to keep improving. And tell people about yourself at every opportunity. You never know where it will lead.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Whenever we go through a difficult time and we come out of it we should appreciate our resilience. After going through a serious health issue, my mom who was the strongest woman I knew told me how proud she was with the way I handled it. That I didn’t fall apart or feel sorry for myself. Mom told it like it was and didn’t give out compliments unless they were deserved. it was a very meaningful moment and taught me something about resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.wendyhopeart.com
• Instagram: @leiserwendy
• Facebook: Wendy Hope Brandt Leiser
• Twitter: @wendyhopeart
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Titles: Eastside Sunrise, Ozzie and Harriet and A Walk in the Park. The photo credit would be me and probably my husband took the one of me.