Pursuit

She glances out the back window at a waiting yellow taxi. Who is it that pursues her and why?

©lesliepetersonsapp Pursuit 24x48

Scenes of women in trouble is very touchy. I do not want to perpetuate stereotypes of helplessness. I always want to make it seem like she has agency. Though there may be danger, you get the feeling she has a good chance of pulling through and landing on her feet!

This is a piece that went through many changes. Originally I had multiple people in the street scene as if there where a bunch of people milling around. But as things developed I could see the figures were just a distraction from the real drama. I even considered taking out the figure near the door and just leaving the car- I still don’t know if I made the right choice. Don’t be surprised if you see another version of this one. (I often feel compelled to do certain images again and again.) 

This one was just really fun. I loved working with the street light creating a cone of a lighter color. The back window of her vehicle creates a frame within a frame, and the dark color flows into her silhouetted profile and the buildings on the street. I tried to make a contrast with the bright yellow, the cool watercolor blues, and the flat dark brown/black.

Keep your eye open for a woodcut version of this piece!

Block

A classic "hard boiled" scene.

2019 Leslie Peterson Sapp Block II 38x48

The man is a reporter or a writer. His office in a rundown dockyard neighborhood that looks out over the harbor with its docks and warehouses. A single ship is coming in. He is alone, but in the corner you can barely make out his coat and hat, hanging on a coatrack, which almost appears to be a person or a ghost. Is it someone he is writing about? Investigating? Pining for? We don’t know because his back is a blank wall.

I combined collage, drawing and painting in this one, trying to capture the effects of moonlight on water, glinting off a glass ashtray. The palm of his hand glows orange as if he is holding a lit match or cigarette. 

Another, smaller version is also available. This one has no collage elements, and the color is slightly softer and nuanced. 

2019 Leslie Peterson Sapp Block 24x32

 

 

 

Search

The spy is being spied upon.

2019 Leslie Peterson Sapp Search 48x40

A young woman is being witnessed as she has snuck into an office at night, perusing documents on a desk. The green glow of the desk lamp illuminates her black jacket. Her profile and veil are silhouetted by the hall light shining through the office door window. Windows within windows, spies spying spies, rectangles framing one another, frames within frames. 

What she is reading, what information she is hoping to find, who is she spying on, and who is spying on her? What will her fate be?

Vacancy

 

She’s going somewhere. He’s going somewhere. Brought together by fate... trying to find beauty and comfort in a desert space.
Who is the more vulnerable one? Will it end happily?

2019 Leslie Peterson Sapp Vacancy 48x40

Vacancy is an image that I have done several times. This one is an aquatint and etching. Image 10x8

2019 Leslie Peterson Sapp Vacancy, aquatint 10x8

In this short video I discuss how I developed Vacancy from the original inspiration from the classic film noir "Detour", to a tiny sketch I just couldn't get out of my mind, to it's final fruition.