The Smell of Rain

Artist Leslie Frenz makes her home on the Pacific Northwest's Camano Island, a haven of lush landscapes and pebbly beaches. In this Fata Morgana, beauty – and meaning – are in the eye of the beholder. From a distance, it's a seascape dominated by sky; up close, it becomes a visual meditation on the water's sparkling surface.

• Through paintings in acrylic and watercolor, Lesley seeks to capture the feeling not just of a place, but of a moment. She is endlessly inspired by her surroundings of the Pacific Northwest, pulling from memories of place, she begins each painting, building up layer upon layer of color and transparent glazes, allowing the composition to emerge as it will, until the surface is transformed into a representation of an experience of a locale and moment in time. Her ultimate goal in every painting is that her surfaces convey the sense of atmosphere and mystery that she finds in wild and untamed places.