It's National Bike Month! Celebrate in style!

I love this postage stamp, so built my picture revolving around the elegant (yet absurd) gentleman "riding" his bicycle.

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: "Panama Postal Collage"

Hand-painted gelatin print on Fabriano paper, crafted in Italy by the Fabriano mill. The postage stamp (issued in 1965) depicts a Panamanian azulejo, or blue-grey tanager (Thraupis episcopis). The vintage dark green postage stamp from Panama was issued sometime between 1904 and 1924. I found the “Par Avion” sticker in a junk store in Washington State’s Skagit Valley.

Sent to my friend June a few weeks ago.

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.

Japanese Postcard 1955

This is a physical collage I made that includes a 1955 Japanese postage stamp featuring an image by Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro (1750-1806). The original woodblock print was called “A Girl Blowing Glass Toy.”

I used Japanese rice paper, a page from an old Japanese ledger, India ink, various hanko (signature) stamps, and walnut ink to create an aged and worn look.

See the vertical black blobs on the right? I tried inking my own pseudo-calligraphy there and the ink just seeped away into the paper. I liked the look, however, and kept it!

©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.

Latest work: "Mrs. LaBan Collage"

Mrs. LaBan of Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, was apparently the owner (at one time) of this battered, weather- and water-damaged book I bought at an antique store on Whidbey Island, Washington.

The book was a mess — falling apart, moldy, and torn. I removed one of the first pages, where she had signed her name, and used it as the basis of my collage. I added some painted marks, a cancellation stamp, and a red Canadian stamp to the mix.

 ©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.

Monday, Monday . . .

It was kind of a down morning yesterday. Does this happen to you? You look at what other people are doing, are creating, and all of a sudden you feel like pond scum. You have no talent, no skill, no presence, you don’t know where the heck you’re going. You feel “less than.” Well, that was yesterday morning.

(I’m writing this yesterday morning. Still in my huge funk. By the time you see this, I’m sure all will be well again!)

What to do to get out of this? Keep working. So into the studio where I’m working on a collage on a wooden cradle board. But it’s not going well today. I’ve tried working on various photomontages this morning, too, trying to come up with something new. And that’s not going well, either.

The cure for this is to keep trying to make SOMEthing. I decide to make a collage on a postcard. I have a bunch of very old, blank, 1-cent postcards. I glued down a piece of paper, another, then another, added a stamp, and it’s not looking awful. But guess what? The stamp has a THREE on it! Aha!

So I bring the image into the computer, tone it a bit, add three (three!) golden “moons” up top. I put a circle around the “3” on the (1939) postage stamp. And it’s done.

What have I accomplished? Well, I’ve sort of worked through my overall feeling of “poor me” and angst, have made a physical collage, and have made a mixed-media “3” for my (cursed) daily “3” project.

Soon we’re heading over to our friends’ house, for laughter, Bloody Marys, and good food. I’m sure that will do the trick!

Happy Monday. May today be a great day for us both!

©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!

Royal Purple "3"

I was trying to come up with something different this morning. Here on my desk is a wooden box full of postage stamps, stamps that I scan and use in my work a lot.

My thinking was, is there a prominent "3" on some stamp that I could scan and then tweak for this month's "daily 3" project?

Queen Elizabeth saved the day.

Below you see the original postage stamp (vintage 1963). When I moved in closer, I could see every engraved/etched line and dot on her profile. It was fascinating.

I needed to move the "3" up closer to her so that I could get rid of all the unnecessary elements in the stamp and just focus on her head and, of course, the number "3."

That wasn't enough, however, for me to make the stamp look truly different. I checked out a variety of effects in Topaz, and opted for this one, a sketching effect that really exaggerates the etched lines and dots.

As J.K. Rowling would write, "mischief managed." I'm good to go for another day.

©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!

May is National Bike Month

It's National Bike Month! Ride in style!

©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: "Northwest"

I've lived in a lot of places -- Norfolk, Virginia, San Diego, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Long Beach, California, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Hawaii, Vienna, Virginia, Japan, Nevada City, California, and more. With so many moves under my belt, I have no real concept of "home."

Gotta say, however, that the Pacific Northwest just feels right to me. I'm drawn to Santa Fe (well, who isn't?), but the sights, sounds, smells (fresh air!), and the green, lush environment here in the northwest make me feel more alive somehow. But Carol, isn't it cold? Yes, but those of you who constantly remind me that I wore shorts pre-dawn at the Reno Balloon Festival in 2000, I'm a warm-blooded person, and the temperatures here are perfect for me. Luckily, Chris feels the same way. Luckily, he's not wearing shorts!

Is this our last house? Probably not. There's probably one more move in the future, to a place with a bit less rain, a bit more space for a studio, and a place where Chris can set up power saws and things and have a woodworking shop. But will it be in the Pacific Northwest? Oh, yeah.

About the art . . . a faux poste card that incorporates my photos of a crow, postage stamps, an Oregon cancellation stamp, painted papers, and more. Made it yesterday 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. Thank you!

Orchidaceae

I created this postcard using a photo of paper from a vintage book, an etching of orchids from an 1889 newsprint magazine, and photos of various stamps from my collection.

Why? Because I can . . .

©Carol Leigh

July 4 . . .

Happy Independence Day!

©Carol Leigh

Joyful days!

Well, based on this stamp, Christmas is all about wearing cool clothes and flying around . . . works for me! Hope you're having a happy holiday season, no matter what you're wearing, no matter what you're doing. Love to all, Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Mastodons Are On Their Way"

I finished this one this morning and uploaded it to Fine Art America. It, and a description of the various elements in it, are at my Faux Poste blog. (So many different "portals" for getting my work seen and it gets really crazy sometimes.) Anyway, just wanted to quickly post it here as well. ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Egyptian Skies"

This piece, created with handpainted papers, paint, and postage stamps, makes me think of the brown tones of the Egyptian landscape combined with dusty blue skies. (Click to enlarge.)

Available as a print from Fine Art America here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/egyptian-skies-carol-leigh.html

Latest work: "Torn and Burned"

A photomontage containing a variety of photos of torn and burned papers, Egyptian postage stamps from 1888 and 1914, my own handpainted markings, burned cork, and more. I'm particularly fond of the warm colors, the textures, and the overall feeling of age. (Click the photo to enlarge it.) ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "1959 Japanese Postcard Mail"

As usual, this didn't go exactly as planned. What I began doing at 5 a.m. was simply tweaking a photo I'd taken in Hawaii of a giant bird of paradise plant. And it turned into this. (Click to enlarge.)

That's what I love about what I do. I never know what to expect, what's going to happen. What appears is often a complete surprise. I see a form, a color, a pattern, a texture, and it makes me think of something else, some other photo I have in my collection, and so I begin asking "what if?" What if I add this, try that, erase this, delete that? Hours pass without my realizing it.

I've uploaded this latest image to my website at Fine Art America, where it's currently available. Thanks for looking! ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Bodhisattva 1952"

A stamp featuring an elegant sculpture of Bodhisattva was issued in Japan in 1952. You see it here on a collaged background of inked and torn vintage papers. I'm attracted to the warm colors and overall monochromatic look. ©Carol Leigh

P.S. Thanks to Kathleen A. for sending me some of the papers used in this collage!

Latest work: "Sense of Direction"

This photomontage resulted from combining my photos of handpainted papers, rubber stamps on envelopes, a compass etched into a newspaper tube, antique engravings, and more. The color palette is a departure for me, which was my intent when I began creating this piece this morning. As usual, click the photo to enlarge it. And now to OFFICIALLY begin my day! ©Carol Leigh

(more) Summertime blues

Blue reflections in water created by a blue fishing boat. A Bulgarian postage stamp. And finally eyes along Highway 101 in the California redwoods. Wishing you cool days, cool blue nights. ©Carol Leigh

I've got mail . . .

My three latest photomontages. Cut and paste, cut and paste, cut and paste. ©Carol Leigh

Paper, Paint, and Postage

I used a variety of vintage papers, old stamps, painted papers, etc. to put together this image. ©Carol Leigh