Kneisel paints ‘Kareem’s Dream’ mural in renovated villa

“Kareem’s Dream.”

That’s what artist Leslie Kneisel dubbed the eye-catching mural she painted inside the newly-renovated Dorothy Jo & Tilly Villa at Project Chimps. Her work combines a colorful, expansive forest scene with elements of Project Chimps’ outdoor habitat. It also features its namesake, Kareem, one of the sanctuary’s most notable residents.

“The chimps have come from such a drab past and they’re such intelligent creatures,” Leslie said. “My whole purpose was to provide as much visual stimulation as I could in one place, which is why I wanted to get pretty intricate and colorful. I put in Kareem and some chimpanzees off in the distance using a photograph of him that I was working from.”

Leslie said she knew from the beginning she wanted to do something that evoked a deep forest. She found stock photos that she liked, enlarged them, and outlined them in a grid on the walls inside the villa.

“Everybody has a different process, but I knew I wanted it to be pretty involved,” Leslie said. “I knew I would like to use kind of an intricate system like the grid system, which is pretty classic for transferring images onto a mural. I used the values I saw in the image but used my own colors.”

Volunteering with chimps

Leslie’s volunteer work at Project Chimps is the latest venture in her wide-ranging career. Her professional life has taken her work to galleries in New York and Los Angeles and back to her roots in Georgia. She taught middle school in Cobb County early in her career, after earning her bachelor’s degree in art at the University of Georgia. Leslie later earned a master’s degree. She went on to teach courses at colleges and universities such as Georgia Tech, Georgia State and Agnes Scott. She began exhibiting her art nationally and internationally in 1985.

Leslie and her husband, Ed, relocated to Morganton in 2016 — the same year Project Chimps welcomed its first residents to the sanctuary. Her artistry even extended to her new country home, which she helped design.

“It’s a big change for me to go from city life all my life to this lifestyle,” Leslie said. “I’ve never been a country girl.”

Murals for chimps

Leslie almost connected with Project Chimps during a previous call for artists, but the timing wasn’t quite right. By the time she saw the advertisement, she felt it was too late to submit a sample of her work.

“There was something in the local newspaper about a call for people to do murals at the sanctuary,” Leslie said. “My husband saw it and said, ‘You should do this.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but submissions are due tomorrow,’ but it kind of got on my radar that way.”

Leslie and Ed both went on to become volunteers at Project Chimps, and Ed became aware that the sanctuary still needed mural artists. This time around, everything fell into place.

“I showed a little bit of work to (Executive Director) Ali (Crumpacker) and she said, ‘OK, get started next week!’ I was like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, that wasn’t what I meant!” Leslie said with a laugh.

The work continues

Leslie continues to volunteer in Project Chimps’ kitchen and with enrichment projects. Much of the remainder of her time is devoted to balancing the internal struggle between two great passions — her artistry and her three horses.

“My horses take a lot of time now,” Leslie said. “I’m training one of them in dressage. It’s a pretty technical discipline of riding.”

It’s clear her love for art remains equally powerful. Even with the help of a team of four volunteers, Leslie dedicated 12 days of work to “Kareem’s Dream.” That included 10 straight days of design and painting.

“I was doing eight and nine-hour days, so I was really pushing it,” Leslie said. “I don’t mind admitting, I was a pretty tired puppy by the end.”

Interested in painting a mural for chimps? Our next round of applications is open!

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS

• Letter of intention to include:
  • Your background as an artist.
  • Why you want to paint for chimps.
  • The dates you would be available to work on the project (we are currently recruiting for a May – August timeline).
• One image of the sketch or idea board for your proposed mural.
• Up to 6 images of past work that represents your art style.
• For adults, current resume or artist bio.
• For youth, letter(s) of support from an art teacher and/or a parental guardian that can speak of their artist skills.

Email your application with all the above required attachments by April 30 to info@projectchimps.org