Japanese Postage 3

Old stamps, pages from an antique Japanese book, peeling paint, and my own paintbrush strokes come together here in a photomontage. With so much blue in the background, I purposely looked for a stamp that had a complementary orange color to it. I also purposely arranged the items so that there was a somewhat diagonal (and curving) flow, leading your eye from upper left on down the picture.

Old postage stamps, old postcards, old books — all having something to do with communication — are particularly appealing to me lately. And would you believe, the only things I purchased in England a couple of weeks ago were a packet of old cancelled stamps and five sheets of illuminated manuscript pages from a 1584 German bible. No teapots, tote bags, nor trinkets, just a couple ounces of old, fusty bits of paper! Tried to bring home the naked mannequin, but he wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment... ©Carol Leigh