What I'm Working On: Meandering through Kyoto

I'm just not a "big picture" sort of person. It's a blessing and a curse. I'm glad that I can find interesting details to photograph, but it's ridiculous to go somewhere and not be able to depict where I was! And I was even really trying this time . . .

So as I'm s-l-o-w-l-y going through my Japan pictures, I see that once again the ones I particularly like are the ones of little details, such as the row of red paper lanterns hanging at the front of a little temple, or a woman in traditional garb walking down the street in front of me, roof detail on a temple, a monk's hat sitting outside the entrance to another temple, and a box that I believe holds brochures, a box that seemed to gleam out at me from a darkened doorway. The woman in kimono is about as "big picture" as I can find in this set of photos.

 You'll just have to take my word that right across the street from where I shot these, the Imperial Palace Gardens spread out before me. Heavy sigh.

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

iPhone Photo of the Day

A cool aspect of the iPhone is being able to have an idea for a post, shoot a couple images for it, and then have it online relatively quickly.

For example, I have an "idea book," a Moleskine notebook where I might sketch out a potential photomontage composition, or where I'll keep quotes I find meaningful, or where I'll glue pictures or drawings for future reference, color combinations I find appealing, for instance.

The first photo you see here is a sample of what a couple of pages in my book look like.

But what I want to point out is the second photo, which is a crude drawing of an idea I had. And then in the third photo you can see the final result. Did I refer to my sketch as I made the photomontage? No. But apparently it was subliminally in my mind all along, because when I came across this sketch the other day, I didn't even remember drawing it. But over the years, as I've paged through this book, it must have registered in my brain, settled in like a little seed, and popped up when the time was right.

What's this got to do with my cellphone photography? It was just so cool to sit here at my desk this morning, put the idea book in front of me, take a couple of shots, frame them in Photoshop, and present them here to show you a little bit of what I do. Artistic? Nope. But fun and useful? Yup.

©Carol Leigh

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

iPhone Photo of the Day

I've got a collection of old grungy paintbrushes (and some of you are saying, "of course you do!"). They were in the studio. The phone was in the studio. So I placed the brushes in front of a monoprint to give them an appropriate background and took a few photos. Processed with Snapseed.

©Carol Leigh

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

What I'm Working On: Feeding FAA

I had a good year with Fine Art America in 2014, selling twice as many pictures and making more than twice the money I made in 2013. I earned enough to travel to Kyoto and take a photo workshop there (plus purchase a bunch of old books and new decorative papers).

I want to continue earning money through them, and so I continue to upload photos. I've got 1,240 images with Fine Art America so far and, since having THEM do the marketing, not me, is incredibly appealing, I continue prepping and uploading pictures.

My routine (such as it is) is to rise early (sometimes as early as 3:30 or 4:00 a.m.) and work on photos in general. I may be creating a photomontage or simply looking through my files, and whenever I create something I think might be salable, I title, describe, and keyword the image in Photoshop and upload it to FAA, where my title, description, and keywords automatically fill their boxes, and then I get on with my day.

My goal is to make $1000 or more a month at FAA, and I’m happy to say I’m getting close, very close! This past Monday was particularly good — FAA sold six of my photos (the ones you see here) in one day! Woo hoo!

©Carol Leigh

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

iPhone Photo of the Day

I'm of an age and a generation of photographers who remember "enhancing filters." The first time I looked at a scene through an enhancing filter I began hyperventilating. Look at those colors! Especially the pinks and reds and oranges. I used that damned thing on EVERYthing! The result was a lot of horribly magenta-colored sidewalks and tree trunks and overly-saturated colors that looked absolutely barfy.

Well, today with the iPhone and with an app called "Brushstroke," I'm doing it again. And by now I'm old enough to know better! But you know what? Better to have unbridled enthusiasm than to have it and tamp it down.

So here we go. Here's what I did to an iPhone photo of a paintbrush that I subsequently tweaked using Brushstroke. And I kinda like it. At least I do today! Check back in another 30 years!

©Carol Leigh

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

iPhone Photo of the Day

This ladder was standing against the side of a hardware store. Sunlight glinting off windows directly across the street from the store created strange blobby reflections on the yellow wall. I liked the starkness and the color. Tweaked afterwards in Snapseed.

©Carol Leigh

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

What I'm working on: Monoprints Part 2

Last Friday I posted about making monoprints and how much fun I'm having with the process.

Here's the link to the post:

http://carolleigh.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-im-working-on-monoprints.html

The way I’m making these things is by using a brayer to apply paint to a Gelli Plate, a flexible silicone pad. I paint the Gelli Plate, make some marks in the paint, then press a piece of paper onto the plate. I rub the paper so it picks up the paint, then pull the paper off the plate. Easy.

Here’s the link to the Gelli Arts website, which contains a LOT of excellent information and tutorials:

http://www.gelliarts.com/ 

What kind of paint? I’m using acrylic paint, from cheapo craft paints in plastic bottles to higher-priced and highly pigmented Golden (brand) acrylics. I’ve also used fabric paint, but that takes 24 hours to dry.

What type of paper? I’ve made prints on old Japanese book pages, rice paper, deli paper, and ordinary drawing paper. The process won't work on coated or glossy paper because the paint doesn't stick to it very well.

 I get the drawing paper from Dick Blick. It’s 9” x 12” and comes in a ream of 500. (I know — redundant. A ream is 500 sheets.) The paper is really heavy, so I wait until they have a “free shipping” offer and then order a lot of it. (Three reams arrived here last week. The paper is just $13 or so a ream.) Here’s the link to the paper I use:

http://www.dickblick.com/items/10209-1033/ 

I’ve created patterns and designs on the painted Gelli Plate using string, rubber bands, cheesecloth, stencils, embossed paper, and my own cutouts. I’ve even pressed the tops of dried poppy pods into the paint to make a design. Here you can see what I did with some rubber bands.

If you wish specific instructions on making monoprints, the best advice I can give you is to go to the Gelli Arts website (above). You’ll find a lot of tutorials there. Do a Google search for the words “gelli art” and you’ll find a whole lot more. The process is fast, easy, surprising, and fun to do. You can’t really make a mistake.

 I know my posts are straying a bit from photography, but then, so am I to a certain extent! More posts about what I’m working on (WIWO) to follow, so fair warning!

©Carol Leigh

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

iPhone Photo of the Day

I'm attempting to learn how to use my iPhone to take decent photographs and although I think I'm good at composing, all the apps and the "@#$% I've lost my photo again" problems are getting to me. I persist, however, and, similar to my "photo a day" project, will begin taking and posting a daily iPhone photo.

Yesterday Chris and I drove into Corvallis, where I enjoy walking the back alleys behind the buildings. I loved the repeating patterns of the bricks and how they created horizontal lines. And then the repeating vertical/horizontal lines of the pipes were just icing on the cake.

Converted to black and white and tweaked a bit in Snapseed.

©Carol Leigh

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

What I'm working on: Monoprints Part 1

Thought I'd share with you what's going on (artistically) here in the studio. I'm currently infatuated with making monoprints! Look at all the ones I've made so far. And this is just a small selection. What I love about the process (more about that in an upcoming post) is the element of surprise. I'm never sure how these things will turn out, and that's the fun of it.

But what the heck am I going to do with all these? First off, they're great textures for me to photograph or scan and then use in my photomontages. But you already knew that.

The ones I printed onto soft, thin rice paper make interesting wrapping paper for gifts.

Other prints will be torn and cut and used in physical collages.

I'm also thinking of gathering up a stack, cutting them all the same size, and binding them into a journal/book.

And finally, maybe some of the more artsy images can be mounted onto watercolor paper and framed.

What does this have to do with photography? Remember my online macro class where we talked about the importance of backgrounds? Well, voila! Here you go. Make your own unique backgrounds in the colors you wish. And when you tire of using them, cut 'em up and make notecards or postcards or, if you're like me, consider making a little book of your art.

©Carol Leigh

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

Latest work: "Savannah Pear"

Mixed media piece that's composed of a photo of a wall in Savannah, Georgia, some Japanese papers, and a pear that I drew, cut out, and painted. I'm loving the textures and the warm colors.

©Carol Leigh

 All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

More stripes . . .

My challenge on this recent trip to South Carolina was to find and photograph stripes. Stripes are often formed in bright sunlight, when reflections and shadows create lovely repeating patterns. Alas, it rained a lot this trip! This is the best I could do.

All of these photos were toned with a slight sepia tint to warm them up, including the pictures taken at Folly Beach, where the lighting was harsh and bright. I could have emphasized the harshness by making those images quite contrasty, but instead I decided to simply warm them up, still maintaining the strength of light and shadow and repeating pattern, but softening the look just a bit.

People have been commenting that I've not been posting much on Facebook nor here, wondering if everything's okay. Yup. Better than okay, in fact. I am creating collages, prepping photos, and making monoprints. I just don't feel I have anything worth sharing yet, so I'm lying low.

Winter is a time for hibernation, and that's kind of what I'm doing. Moving slowly but with intention, getting rid of things that no longer are a part of my life (like two tall file cabinets full of California research material!) and clearing the decks for a new (creative) chapter. More about all this later.

Wishing you a winter of content, creativity, and contemplation.

©Carol Leigh

 All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

Scenes on a bridge ...

Crossing the bridge over the Savannah River, I quickly shot a few through the upper part of the windshield. Used the iPhone. Completely different from anything I would shoot with a regular camera. Weird, but I kind of like these! 

Copyright Carol Leigh 

It's still difficult ...

... To remember to use the smartphone as a camera. But it IS fun! This is an early-morning shot of the lighthouse and marina at Harbourtown on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. Processed with Snapseed. Copyright Carol Leigh

Stripes!

I'm thinking my blog posts this week while I'm in South Carolina will concentrate on stripes. I've found lots of them so far, so why not? I'm also shooting with the big cameras, but am trying to practice here with the cellphone camera, which is fun.

Sand fences at Folly Beach were fantastic. And then shadows on a wall at Hilton Head Island became part of the mix, as did shadows on a walkway.

When visiting a new place it's easy to be overwhelmed by all the possibilities. Having a particular subject to look for eases the photographic tension somewhat, which is always a good thing.

Copyright Carol Leigh

En route to South Carolina ...

Leaving Portland at the crack of dawn.

Left Chicago at sunset. Arrived in Charleston in the night. And there's been just a touch of snow here! Naturally, it's warm and sunny back home on the Oregon coast ...

This shot taken through a dirty plane window using the iPhone 6+. 

Sold the last two weeks of December

Here are the pictures that sold at Fine Art America during the final two weeks of December. A couple were canvas-wraps, a couple were pillows (which I think look really cool), and some were straight prints.

Has FAA been worth my time? Heck yes. I way more than doubled what I made last year and more than doubled the photos that sold. FAA offers me a selling arena where I don't have to do the printing, the packaging, the shipping, nor the marketing. And it easily paid for a fairly expensive trip to Japan. A life-changing trip to Japan.

I'm a happy little artist these days. Wishing you the same happiness, no matter what art you do.

©Carol Leigh
 All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

International Letter-Writing Week

Yes, it's that time of year again, the holiday none of us should ignore: International Letter-Writing Week (January 8-14). Since I am way too busy to write a letter, I created a postcard instead. (Oh, the irony!) Interestingly, I already had a Japanese stamp commemorating the holiday, so I built the card around that stamp.

But what I also want to tell you is that I now have a friend in Japan, who sent me a delightful letter last week.

While in Kyoto, Rich, CJ and I were in a calligraphy shop and were approached by a young Japanese woman (her name is Nao), who spoke quite a bit of English. An art student from Hiroshima, she was visiting family and looking for some inexpensive watercolors.

We all must have talked for about half an hour. We talked about calligraphy and brushes and so Rich showed her a quick iPhone video he had made of a famous Kyoto calligraphy artist we had visited. She said she wanted to write to us, so we gave her our business cards and were on our way. A delightful experience.

And then I received this charming letter (Rich and CJ received one, too) in an envelope that contained a color picture of her work (the goldfish) and a few other things. It was great! It reminded me of when I was 12 and living in Japan and how I helped a Japanese serviceman practice his English, the carved bear sculpture he gave me as a thank-you, and how we corresponded for quite some time afterwards. Japanese enthusiasm for learning English, their gratitude for your time, their small appreciations, and then a letter like this -- well, what can I say? My life has been enriched. Again.

Anyway, just thought you would like to be reminded that International Letter-Writing Week is right around the corner. Don't you just love getting letters? Well, pass the love next week and send an actual, physical, letter. You'll be enriching someone's life as well as your own.

Postally yours . . .
PO Box 1269, Waldport, OR 97394

©Carol Leigh
 All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!