Week-end potpourri . . .

Sometimes we don't really know what we've accomplished until we take the time to look back. These are just a few images I've created this week, and it's gratifying to realize this is maybe just 20% of the total.

I often think I'm not working enough, not putting in enough effort, especially when I compare myself to what I perceive others doing.

Comparison. Big mistake, no?

Anyway, mucking around in my photo archives, I came across two pictures (a number "2" and some rust, both on an old train), shot in Eureka, California, and combined them for something new and different and unique. (If one can consider rust and old metal "new" and "different.")

In my Facebook "Photomotivation" group, we're working on images that relate to "summer." So when I found two "ice" signs on a pole this week, I automatically photographed them for our project. The beauty of giving yourself an assignment on a regular basis is that you become a better observer, a noticer, and your work and your portfolio improves and expands. Plus it's just fun.

In the studio, I made textured papers using acrylic paints and cardboard and stains, then combined my photos of them in Photoshop to make something completely different -- an interesting picture of texture in muted colors to upload to Fine Art America.

And finally, in the middle of a week full of birthdays, explorations, and meals with friends, a wander around the docks in Port Townsend brought me to this lovely wooden boat quietly moored in late afternoon light.

So it's been a week of friendships, meanderings, collage-making, and photography.

I should take time more often, really, to simply recap what I've done in a week. I may amaze myself. Try it yourself -- YOU may be amazingly surprised by how much wonderful stuff you create and experience and contribute. Let us all carry on!

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.

FOR SALE ...

FOR SALE: Liquid propane trailer, original owner, great condition (some scratches, a few dents), works great!

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.

Playing with color and texture . . .

I'm constantly shaking things up a bit, experimenting with techniques and concepts, and right now it's primarily about adding more color, more depth, and more texture to my images.

I make a LOT of gelatin prints, eventually cutting them up to make envelopes, cards, collages, etc. In this case, I added two cherry tree leaves I'd pressed flat in Oregon. They fell out of a book last month and inspired me to work with them. The result is certainly colorful, kind of busy, but kind of fun.

And then yesterday I opened a photo I'd taken in Portland's industrial district, a photo of three bolts and their shadows. It was a cool shot to begin with, with a bright yellow strip at the very top, but I wanted more.

I added a hand-painted number 4 (see it there on the right?), a photo of some dumpster grunge (that's where the blue is coming from), and more of my hand-painted papers to create smudges, lines, and texture elsewhere.

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.

Rust ...

"Rust is my happy color." --Carol Leigh, Artist

I published this picture and this quote on my Facebook and Instagram sites today.

Because it made me happy to write it. Happy to say it.

And because when I visit boatyards, explore the industrial parts of cities, or head to the docks, I'm giddy with excitement.

Yup, a few rusty screws and a camera and I'm a happy camper!

©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.

What I saw, what I made

I get this all the time. "What the heck are you shooting?" "Why did you take that picture?" "What are you gonna do with that?"

And I completely understand. Here's my thought process.

We were poking around a boatyard/dump/repair facility in Anacortes, Washington and I saw a weathered wall with grungy stuff running down it, with scrapes and scratches and bits of paint.

Adrenaline rush!

I knew there was something there that I could use later, but I didn't know why or what. I just knew it was important.

Click.

My first go-round with the elements in that top picture turned into this vivid blue and red picture that could easily have been an old metal sign, perhaps a graphic element on the side of a weathered fishing boat. To create it, I took my original photo and simply added more lines, some color, and part of something else that I don't remember now.

Colorful grunginess. That's why I like the second photo. It's almost an oxymoron.

I came across the top photo again another day and wondered what else I could do. I copied it, flipped it, put in a bit of color here and there, and added the two yellowish vertical elements on the left.

I felt the arrow had to be pointing toward something, so I added a photo I'd taken of some rivets in Oregon.

But then the bottom right seemed empty to me, so I added a photo of some lettering I shot on the side of a Willys Jeep on the Oregon coast. Done!

And now you know why I get up so early in the morning.

©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.