Mountain Ash Leaves

The warm colors of mountain ash leaves look beautiful placed on an antique Japanese book cover. I get a calm, quiet feeling from this, as though I’ve just opened some child’s scrapbook, where he or she has collected and pressed fallen leaves.

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 for your understanding and kindness.

An afternoon in Anacortes . . .

Crabbing season began about 10 days ago -- always exciting!

Crabpots are stacked up, spiffed up, ready to be loaded onto fishing boats. Not the mass quantities and dramatic vistas we had in Oregon, but I take what I can get and am thankful.

Piles of fishing nets always provide good photo opportunities. "Want to buy them? They won't fit in my net shed." Sure. Five hundred pounds of fish nets. You haul.

It's hard to miss the bright red Arrow Launch/Marine Services boats in the harbor. And they look even better up close.

We walk down one of the docks where I photograph the aft section of a fishing boat from Kodiak, Alaska -- love the texture on this one.

When the weather is good, this is what we do -- get out and explore, wander around, and feel so lucky we can do this together.

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 for your understanding and kindness.

On this date . . .

Back on this date in 2010, eight years ago, we were driving around the industrial parts of Salem, Oregon, where I found some great walls and cool vegetation in front of them.

The warm, monochromatic look was appealing on this early winter's day.

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 for your understanding and kindness.

State of the studio . . .

Fine Art America contacted me, wanting a photo of my studio for a feature they were putting together. Yikes! Do I clean it up? Do I "stage" it? Nah. I just took the photo of the art counter as it was, but I admit to putting that red paper up front, a gel print I'd recently made, because it was bright and eye-catching.

When I shot this, I was working on making a couple of artist books, which you can see there on the counter -- one red, one blue.

I've never made books like these, so at this point I'm just experimenting, and it's all taking a lot of time. I'm optimistic that I'll get faster and better as I practice. But the process is fun (frustrating, but fun) and it gets me off my butt, away from the computer.

Gotta thank Chris for making it all happen for me.

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Work in progress . . .

As I'm making all the individual pages for my three Japanese ledger-style artist books, I'm also making little collages, using small scraps of paper that get pushed aside. Each of these mini-collages contains maybe 3-5 bits of paper. And then, whenever/wherever appropriate, I glue them onto the book pages.

I know this is tough to visualize, but each page of the book contains what I think of as a big collage, consisting of inked, stamped, painted, torn papers. They're kind of like scrapbook pages. The books are always in a state of flux as I add more things, rip away papers, etc. No page (double-sided!) will ever be really done until I begin putting all three books together.

I'll show some of the pages in a forthcoming post, which might help you visualize my concept.

Whatever the results (and I truly think they're going to be wonderful), I am enjoying the entire process. To call it "fun" isn't quite accurate. I read the other day an unattributed quote: "Art is fun in retrospect."

Right now I'm sort of in a zone, picking, choosing, arranging, making decisions. I stick with it for a couple hours and then have to take a break.

So no, it's not "giddy" fun, not like being in the front seat of the rollercoaster, but rather a quiet, satisfying sense of making something. You know?
----------
I'm also on Instagram if you'd like to see more of my work there. Well, even if you don't want to see more of my work, I'm there anyway!
----------
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 for your understanding and kindness.

Latest work . . .

These pictures have finally been uploaded to Fine Art America -- it took me all month to create them. I'm hoping it was worth the wait!

As I was playing with different colors and shapes, I began thinking of a stage set, looking behind the scenes as well as from the audience’s point of view.

"Rehearsal"
The top picture is titled "Rehearsal." This one implies the “organized confusion” of what goes on both behind the scenes and from an empty theater’s point of view.

No audience, just the actors and crew finding their places, making adjustments, moving sets, fine-tuning the production. And are those guitar strings there at the bottom?

"Opening Night"
"Opening Night" appears in a square version as well as a wider horizontal. And I know this may sound weird, but don’t the round things at the bottom seem like a very attentive audience, waiting for the play to begin? No? Just me, I guess!

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 for your understanding and kindness.

My first sale . . .

This is the first picture I sold at Fine Art America, back in 2012. It's a mixed-media piece, a combination of various old Japanese papers.

I didn't know if it would sell, since it's rather different. But being different has made all the difference! This is the type of image I enjoy creating, that makes me feel I'm finally an "artist," something that photography rarely gave me.

So I continue to create what I love, then upload it to FAA, and go on to the next. Although a number of my "straight" photographs do sell, it's mostly my mixed-media collages and photomontages that people are attracted to.

What "straight" photographs sell? That's a subject for another post.

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Sold this date . . .

Sold this date in 2016, "Passing By." This buyer from the UK ordered a 30x20 metal print. I took the picture from a moving car on the coast highway at Ona Beach, Oregon. Last time I drove past, the tree was gone. So sad to see.

Here's how I originally described the image on Fine Art America: "Photographing trees from a moving car is a fun (and often frustrating) experience. I never know what I'm going to get, but this tree on the Oregon coast rarely lets me down."

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Around the yard . . .

It's been a very mild fall here on Whidbey Island. Leaves are now completely fallen from our mountain ash tree. They're lovely and very delicate. As I pick up one of these stems, the individual leaves gently fall away. I managed to get one intact, pressed it, and am now working on incorporating it into a photomontage.

One foggy morning, the pines looked good against a lighter, brighter background. Delicate, lacy branches contrasting with the strong, sturdy tree trunk.

This tree in the side yard -- one I have failed to identify so far -- turned a bright yellow, and stayed like that for a fair amount of time. Last year heavy rains hit, the leaves turned brown, and became a sludgy pile on the ground, practically overnight.

And it's mushroom-o'rama right now, as they spring up everywhere. The cellphone, turned upside-down, enables me to shoot from a bug's-eye view.

Fall -- my favorite season of the year -- offers so much on so many levels, as nature slows down, sloughs off the unnecessary, and quietly gathers within itself to eventually burst out again, reaching its stride in May. Ain't it wonderful?

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Meet my leetle fren’ ...

I was having breakfast when I felt I was being watched.

I was.

There on the outside of the glass door was a large banana slug, making his way up the smooth surface. Since we rarely see these guys from underneath, I got the iPhone and began shooting.

I learned a few things about slug anatomy, which you probably don’t want to hear about, but which I found fascinating. Of course.

So here’s my new buddy, looking pretty good in the early hours, silhouetted against the trees out there. I offered him a cup of coffee. Nope, he said, makes him too hyper.

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Mooring lines . . .

To a photographer who enjoys photographing industrial-ish subject matter, Anacortes, Washington is always a fun destination.

We walked out on a dock to take a look at this tugboat, ended up talking for some time with the captain, and took a few photos. I particularly liked this first picture, where the heavy-duty mooring lines lead your eye into the picture, creating depth.

Across the passage in Port Townsend, a sign warns us to stay clear of those heavy-duty mooring lines.

And finally, here's a close-up of those lines we've been reminded to stay clear of. Terrific texture in the photo, and the weathered blue-grey metal of the ship is scrumptious.

Have a great day. And watch out for mooring lines!

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Boat bits . . .

 It may be an artistic flaw, but I easily fall in love with simple line and design, creating images that don’t necessarily convey deep thoughts, contain heavy ponderings, or relate to life and the universe.

Give me a dock to walk on, a little boat in the water below, and I end up with something like this. The bright yet rich red color, the solid white vertical line, the movement of a diagonal element — all make me happy. As do the little dark triangular shapes upper left and lower right.

Sometimes it doesn't take much, does it? 

 

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 for your understanding and kindness.

What I'm working on . . . artist books

I've always wanted to make a series of artist books, small booklets that contain handpainted/handprinted papers.

The process begins (at least for me) with the papers, so I've been using a gel plate and a limited color palette to make the pages.

Using the pages as a substrate, I will add additional items and then create the signatures. The signature thickness will determine how the books will be bound. For all I know right now, each book may just be a single signature!

The colors are luscious, the possibilities for embellishment limitless. Here's the layout right now for simple page-making.

An oversize gel plate is where it begins (top), where I make the individual pages (middle). In the bottom picture you can see close-ups of three pages.

This is fun! No pressure, no time constraints, and the results are beautiful. We shall see!

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Latest work: "Dockside"

As usual, I've been experimenting with various photos and techniques, attempting to create something new, different, and interesting.

This composition came from various marinas in Anacortes, Washington, where I found textures as well as subject matter to photograph and then bring together in the computer.

It went through at least six different versions before I considered it "done" and I uploaded it to Fine Art America this morning.

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 for your understanding and kindness.

One photo, three possibilities . . .

When I was conducting online photo classes, one of the assignments I gave my students was called "squarification."

The objective was to encourage them to look at their images and/or subject matter to see if it could look good not only full-frame, but also as a square. A square image often has a completely different -- and appealing -- effect.

Here's what I mean:

The top photo show you my original composition of colorful graffiti I found on the side of a railroad car.

I liked the bit of red paint up toward the top that leads our eye down into the rest of the picture.

And then I began experimenting with a square format, as you see in the middle picture. Again we've got the red at the top. But we also have blue lines over at the left that lead our eye down to the bottom third of the square photo, where there's a patch of cool-looking rust.

And finally, in the third photo, I return to the top part of the picture and concentrate solely on that red section.

In this version we have the red line beginning upper left, then continuing diagonally down into the middle of the picture, where it makes an abrupt turn to our left before heading south again.

And, as a bonus, we have the blue lines on the left that also encourage our eye to move down to the bottom of the frame.

There you have it. One photo, three different possibilities. Ta da!

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Around the Island: Autumn on Whidbey

The weather has been classically wonderful (big blue skies, no rain, plenty of sunshine, temps ranging from the upper 40s at night, upper 50s/lower 60s during the day). Perfect for getting out and exploring the island.

Farm stands display freshly picked apples and pears as well as wheelbarrows, shelves, and baskets full of pumpkins. The produce is fresh and locally grown (except for some pumpkins I spotted at a local nursery, each one proudly displaying a sticker from . . . Woodburn, Oregon!

Scarecrows line the streets in Coupeville and painted brooms, looking like candy corn, add color to the overlook in downtown Langley.

People are selecting their pumpkins in fields here and there; the dahlias are just about finished blooming; and the air is fresh and clear.

Here are a few pictures I've taken over the past 10 days or so. What a happy time of year.

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 for your understanding and kindness.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON: "Bunker Art"

Another in my series of photographs depicting the details of military fortifications along the west coast. In this case, I converted the image to black and white and then let just a bit of the underlying color image come through. Gotta say, I like this effect!

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 for your understanding and kindness.

What-Iffing . . . sketches

Spending time wondering "what if" is time well spent. How else will you know what will work, what won't, what sorts of photos work best, and what techniques produce the best results.

Sure, you might create a LOT of really bad work, but so what?

If you don't experiment, you will be in the same artistic box, day after day.

Here are three of my latest experiments with turning photographs into sketches (sort of). I'm not 100% pleased with them, but there's something rather appealing (at least for me) about what I made.

I like how words and tiny details show up clearer in the sketch than they do in the original photograph. I like the outlines. And I like the transparent-ish colors.

The only way I know how I made these pictures would be to go back to my original photographs and take a look at all the layers -- which I leave intact. I have yet to develop a "recipe."

Yes, experimentation is time-consuming. No, this isn't for everyone. For me, however, it keeps my mind and my eyes active, and it keeps my art changing. I hope!

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 for your understanding and kindness.

Cleats and coils . . .

I'm always impressed with boat owners who take the time to coil their mooring lines. It shows care, pride, and also makes a darned good photograph!

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 for your understanding and kindness.