We met Leah Dorrian as she traversed her way across the U.S. in her transition move from Maryland to California.  She found herself in Austin and decided to see if there were any visionary art galleries in Austin.  She walked in and we were instantly attracted to her spirit.  As we spoke, Leah began to effuse art, light, and empathy and it quickly became obvious that she was more than just a traveler who stumbled into our visionary establishment.

Leah's art is a form of communication which expresses the subconscious, spirituality, beauty, divinity, and nature in various archetypal modalities. It is embedded with symbols and messages that invite the viewer into intuitive contemplation of the intrinsic nature of the human experience beyond our physical reality. Venturing deep into the mind, Leah's art captures the reverberations of what she has discovered and wishes to share with the collective consciousness to illuminate an ambience of mystery, magic, and peace.

In 1995, Leah Dorrian was gifted from the universe to her mother Jill and father, John in Rockville, Maryland.  She came into the world with two older siblings and one more to come. Her childhood was filled with creative freedom in the realms of art and music, where she developed what would become a lifelong passion for both. 
When she was six, her mother encouraged her to develop her artistic skills further by submitting works to a professional artist's guild where she was accepted and began to create amongst inspiring and accomplished artists. She says she will never forget her first day.  She spent three hours at an adult-sized stool, hovering over her workspace, creating a landscape painting of a mountain and lake with a sailboat floating off into the distance.

"This was the beginning of my humbling journey within the artistic world where I started studying and making art with intention, using it as a tool to explore my imagination, spirituality, and the vast possibilities of creation."

She attended the Arts and Communications Academy in Frederick, Maryland where she continued studies in art history and studio art, becoming a featured artist in galleries of the Walter’s Art Museum of Baltimore and the Delaplaine Art Center of Maryland. She received her Bachelor’s degree in graphic design at the University of Maryland. 

In her sophomore year, after delving deeper into yoga and meditation practices and experiencing profound shamanic and transcendental experiences, her art began to take on a surrealistic quality that matured into the visionary artworks that epitomize the messages and energetic representations of matter in other realms of the subconscious that she was exploring. She has live painted at various music and art festivals including Envision Festival in Costa Rica, the Conscious Collective in Pennsylvania, Clustxr in West Virginia, and Kinnection Campout in Tennessee.
  
After graduating, she created began a freelance art and design business Dorrian Designs, working with clients on projects from logo designs to huge mural paintings, tattoo designs to documentary music scores- and anything else creative that was in alignment with her heart! She is more than just an art creation machine, she embraces traveling, photography, reading, hiking, dancing, singing, and connecting with nature and people.

On September 1. 2018, she set off from her studio in Maryland to embark on a month and a half long adventure across the country to paint en plein air in awe-inspiring settings within National Parks. Drawing from her love of nature, wildlife, music, and environmental sustainability, I created works of art and musical pieces that brought an awareness to the importance of cherishing nature. Her work is a conduit and invitation to the viewer to unconditionally embrace the vast expanse of their consciousness.  She views herself as a dedicated artist for the global awakening of humanity.

​Join us November 18th at Gallery Lucid from 6pm-9pm for an evening of beauty, insight, and expression. 
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A portion of the proceeds go to All Things Wild, an Austin organization that promotes respect and compassion for all wildlife through public education and awareness; to rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured, orphaned and displaced wildlife and release them back into the appropriate habitat; and to provide sanctuary for all animals in need.

Typically, I write write artist profiles for this blog.  Today, I am going to let J.C. Amorrortu's words do most of the speaking:

​"I was re-incarnated in the city of Lima, Peru on June 23rd into a family of thinkers, professionals and doctors. I remember at a very young age looking through my uncle’s books of medicine and pathology and reading books about the old master painters, hence developing a very especial interest in the human condition and anatomy. I have been doing art for fun since I was a little kid; now I do it as therapy, as a way to further my spiritual evolution in this planet, to have fun and to live.










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​I moved to Austin in December 21st, 2000. I hold a Bachelors degree in Graphic design, which with addition to all my art studies I have done, in both application and history, have helped me to find a balance in pursuing my vision. My work is difficult to put into one category. I refuse to be put into categories and/or styles. Art is my higher purpose and I march to the beat of my own drum. I acknowledge both the light and the dark in this waking dream we call life. Dreams, past experiences, traumas, fears, love, death among others intertwine to create something unique; sometimes funny, sometimes serious or both".  ​

J.C.'s work will be on display until November 10th.

Join Gallery Lucid, J.C. Amorrortu, Juan Villegas and Kalee Espitia for the closing reception for the Miradas Profundas show being held from 6-9 pm at Gallery Lucid on November10th.

J.C. and Juan Villegas will be unveiling their first collaborative work together!  These are two of our favorite Austin artists and we are thrilled to see what they have jointly created.  

The most exciting part?  We have no idea what they have in store for us. We know the magic of their individual efforts and can only imagine what will be produced collaboratively.  Come be surprised with us!

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Collaboration is key! Each piece was created by two or more artists, and that vibe of coming together resonated throughout the run of the show, with collaborative music, dance, tea service and more throughout the last month. What a show Merging Perspectives turned out to be!

Now it's coming to a close this Saturday, October 13th from 6pm to 9pm at Gallery Lucid, with live painting from the artists of Merging Perspectives. An informal, energetic gathering, the live paintings give the public an inspiring view into the artists' processes. For this event, though, we see several artists working on their processes together.  It's a chance to meet the artists, get inspired, and enjoy the show once more before the paintings move to a new home. We've loved hosting the artists and their mind-bending works--this is definitely a show we're going to miss!

Gallery Lucid

Artists:
Elliot Rogers
​Dixon Stovall 
Rosemary Allen
Juan Villegas
Vervain Hellsdottir
Zena Siren
Evan Wagoner "Axiom"
Michael Garfield
William Allan Ros "W.A.R"

Remember a portion of the proceeds from this show goes out to Art from the Streets, providing a safe and encouraging environment in which the positive spirit of homeless and at-risk people is nurtured through artistic expression, and who provides them with a source of pride and income through the sale and display of their work. Purchase art you love and support a creative, wonderful cause!

#AustinArt #CollaborativeArt #LivePainting #ArtShow #ArtExhibition #ATXArt #ArtfromtheStreets #Painting #ArtGallery #AustinGallery

Join us on the 21st of August for Gallery Lucid's monthly Meetup.  

Have you experienced the magic of collaborative creation?  Do you wish to share the inspiring work that cooperation and co-creation produces? To celebrate the fascinating growing trend of artists collaborating on projects, Gallery Lucid is dedicating its next show to collaborative works of art: works created by two or more artists. Submit your works now through August 19th for a chance to be a part of this multi-faceted show!

The show is set to run from September 8th to October 14th. Please note: This show runs through both ACL weekends, and will be advertised throughout the the run of the city-wide festival.

Gallery Lucid focuses on works that are in the realm of visionary, surreal and psychedelic, and submissions should be representative of these genres. These genres are, however, wide and open to great interpretation: all are welcome to apply.
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ACCEPTED MEDIA:

• Open for any subject matter, but please keep the unique nature of our healing center in mind.
• We are accepting original artwork in all media
  (contact Gallery Lucid for specifics on sculptures/pottery/jewelry/lighting/video/etc.)
• Painting and Photography entries must be framed and have a professional appearance. Paintings must be ready for hanging with wire (no saw tooth hangers). Unframed stretched canvas (3/4" depth or greater) will be accepted if the sides are painted and no staples are visible.  
• Label the back of artwork in the upper left hand corner with: Title, Artist Name, and Phone Number.

PUBLICITY:  

• The Merging Perspectives show will be submitted to local newspapers including the Austin Chronicle and the Austin Statesman, as well as in online event and newspaper sites such as Austin360, Do512, Austintexas.org/events, Austin Culturemap, the Austinot, within art groups on Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites, and around town at various locations in which we see support for artists and the arts. 
• Opening Night will feature live music, refreshments, and all artists in attendance. 
• At least one additional event to showcase the artists will be scheduled during the run of the show. Each artist will be expected to attend at least one of these events. We encourage each artist to present their preference for the type and date/time of their event(s) (e.g., class, workshop, live art, special show, etc.) and whether they would like to do so in conjunction with another featured artist in the show.

A full timeline is provided on the Submissions page.
Click HERE to fill out registration form and to view submission guidelines.
SUBMIT YOUR WORK before August 19th!
-Gallery Lucid

Eris is a multimedia artist who hails from New Orleans, but is now based in Austin.  As she appreciates the intensity and dynamic nature of life and uses painting, drawing, clay sculpture, film, and performance to tell her stories and to challenge our views on the nature of why we are here. ​

You can see more of his work on Instagram here and at the Surreal Summer Visions show at Gallery Lucid in Austin, TX on August 4, 2018. ​

Spanning realism and surrealism, light and fun to moody, Robert's work humorously advocates the idea that anything is possible. ​

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Click here to see the Facebook invitation and here to view the invitation via our blog.
Titles you will have an opportunity to view at the Opening on August 4th.  ​
Giesha Glitch 22x28 
Girl With Horse 16x24 
Harlequins Entropy 36x44 
Synthesis 22x22 ​

You can see more of Chris Gilmer's work on Instagram here, Facebook here, and his personal website here. 
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