About the Artist :: Leonard Mizerek
Leonard Mizerek nurtured his artistic love of nature while growing up in the Brandywine Valley. As a young boy, he often went painting along the Brandywine River, deriving inspiration from the countryside of nearby Pennsylvania. His early influence was with the Brandywine School.
Leonard, known for his colorful, luminous seascapes and expressive brushwork, paints on site at coastal locations throughout the world. Leonard was awarded Artist in Residence for June ’06 at the Museum Yvonne Jean-Haffen in Dinan, France. He painted the area for the month and those paintings were exhibited in France and subsequently one was made part of the museum collection. He was one of 15 artists selected to paint at the Forbes Colorado Ranch; and exhibited at the Forbes Museum in New York and made part of the permanent collection. He was featured on the August 2001 cover of American Artist Magazine. He was invited as one of 23 nationally recognized contemporary marine artists exhibit in a special three museum exhibition, which toured New England to the Newport Art Museum, the Maine Maritime Museum and Connecticut River Museum. In addition, he exhibited in the Coos Bay Museum of Fine Art and the Cape Museum of Fine Art.
Leonard is one of 70 elected members of the prestigious Guild of Boston Artists. He was awarded Fellowship, the highest honor as one of only 21, in The American Society of Marine Artists. Recently, Leonard was elected to the New England Plein Air Painters.
Past exhibitions have included several Featured Artist and One Man shows: The American Society of Marine Artists Exhibitions at the First USA Riverfront Arts Center, Wilmington, DE; The Delaware Art Museum; The Frye Museum of Art, Seattle, WA; The Mariner’s Museum, Norfolk, VA; The Cummer Museum, Jacksonville, FL; San Diego Maritime Museum; The Mystic Seaport Museum. He has exhibited in the Annual Mystic International since 1988 and the Annual Modern Marine Masters Exhibition since 1995 at Mystic Seaport; two exhibitions at the National Academy of Design in New York; Operation Sail, Boston; First Place in the Sea Heritage Marine Exhibition; The International Society of Marine Painters and numerous national exhibitions. He graduated with a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and studied at the New York Art Students League under nationally known artist, Nelson Shanks. He also studied at the National Academy of Design under internationally known artist, Raymond Kinstler. Leonard is an officer and Fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists. He is also a Signature Artist Member of the New England Watercolor Society, and the International Society of Marine Painters.
Leonard was selected for Painting Ships, Shores, & the Sea, a book showcasing America’s top artists by North Light Books. He was chosen as a finalist in The Artist Magazine’s Competition ’95, ’97, and 2001. He was recently included in magazine articles in Maine Boats & Harbors, Sea History, Marine Art Quarterly, American Artist Magazine and Watercolor Magazine. Len is also featured in the book, Splash 3, as well as in Gallery of Marine Art, Rockport Publishers, and Bound for Blue Water by Greenwich Workshop Press.