Latest work: "Dappled Crow in Blue"

When you're sitting in the car, holding a camera, and a crow's on a fence right in front of you, well, what would YOU have done?! This guy was quite handsome and made a fine silhouette.

There are a number of photos contained in this one picture. All were taken in Port Townsend, Washington and then I added strips of dusty pink, orange, and turquoise to echo the colors in the background peeling paint. So much fun to do, so difficult to describe . . .

I've uploaded this image to Fine Art America, where you can see it much bigger and at a higher resolution. Here's the link directly to it.

P.S. Wishing a good morning to Shirley, my friend in Bend.

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: "Crow Walking the Line"

My Drobo is full again. So I'm going through my photo files and getting rid of all the extra stuff I don't really need. It's tedious, but the fun thing is that I'm coming across pictures I'd forgotten about, such as this crow walking along a very thick mooring line in Newport, Oregon. There are boats behind him and beautiful bokeh glints of sunlight on the water.

And then I found a picture I'd taken of a weathered old buoy. I grunged it up some and included it here. I like the warmish combination of blue and brown colors.

I also like how sharp the crow is, how I can see the hairs under his chin, as well as the sunflower seed he has in his beak.

Apparently it pays to clean house every once in a while . . .

©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.

Winter Solstice

Wishing us all peace, tranquility, and kindness this season.

©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.

Walking Crow

I created this image back in 2010 but wasn’t quite satisfied with it. And, poor guy, he’s been completely overlooked all these years until this morning, when I rediscovered him and decided to re-work the image.

(And thank you, Jan Hagan, for recommending the Nik filters. They are making a big difference in what I'm doing.)

There are lots of torn papers, images of old papers, a reflection of a fishing boat (!), a hand-painted number “4,” which is impossible to see, and some hand-painted squares over there on the left.

I like the really aged feeling of the background and how the crow stands out so well against it.

So glad I rediscovered him. And saw him with new eyes.

 ©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 works . . .

I'm sort of in a postcard rut these days. My actual photography doesn't seem to exist at the moment (taking care of various things lately and not carrying around the big camera; disenchanted with the quality of the iPhone), so when I need to create something, I'm rummaging around in previously-taken images to see what I can put together.

Here we have one rather monochromatic image ("John Dory Fish Postcard") and a colorful one ("Crow in Orange and Pink").

Have I told you how much fun I have making these? Well, I'm having fun making these!

©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!

It's hard to sneak up on a crow . . .

Once again, I'm sort of in a slump, but instead of fretting, I continue trying this, trying that. I'm making a lot of monoprints to use not only in physical collages, but also to include in photomontages. I have lots of ephemera, too, to photograph and then use. And then there are a variety of painterly effects I'm testing out.

But what I'm also doing is simply riffling through my photo files, looking at old pictures with new eyes and (hopefully) new techniques and talents.

This crow showed up in 2009, as I and my workshop participants here on the Oregon coast were shooting at the Waldport Marina. I was able to move in fairly close and he didn't seem too concerned. But he definitely knew I was there.

I then added some textures, some scratches, some painterly effects, and came up with this version of my original photo. I like it. It's different. It was fun to make. And it reminded me of a lovely morning in Oregon five years ago, among like-minded folks, all admiring our surroundings and shooting away.

Wishing you lovely surroundings this Saturday morning.

©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Facing Future"

A raven faces forward, his posture echoed in the faint swirls behind him where we see, perhaps, the head of another raven ahead of him. I used all sorts of photographs to create this, including pictures of torn paper, a bit of a physical collage I made, one of my favorite shots of scratched metal that I use in a LOT of my work, letters, lines, and more. I may end up turning this into a postcard, but for now, I like how things stand. ©Carol Leigh

Latest works . . .

I've been generating a prodigious amount of work lately with no lack of ideas and with the luxury of having a decent amount of time to create. I'm not sleeping much at all (which isn't good), but I'm loving what I'm doing.

What I especially love is the surprise, the way images turn out that bear no resemblance to my initial concept(s). I try an effect, something bizarre happens, and so I run with it, often tossing it out later but that doesn't matter -- it's the process that's important, and everything I discard gives me a stronger foundation for future images. (Did that make any sense? Am I taking myself way too seriously?)

As I'm working, I'm constantly uploading my pictures to Fine Art America, where I currently have slightly more than 800 available. And sales have been good. I'm excited at how well I'm doing there, and am extremely grateful.

Here are five examples of current images. The prayer flag project continues. I'll probably upload one more "set" (three individual images plus a triptych) and then, even though I've got many more for this particular series, am going to change the look, see if I can come up with a completely different series of them.

Old papers, cement, my own sketches, lines, and marks are forming the backbone of what I'm currently doing. I'm also looking at previous "failures" and seeing if there's anything I can do with new eyes and more skills to create something better.

It's 3 a.m., 19 degrees outside, Chris and the cat are sound asleep, and here I am in my little office, bleary-eyed but very pleased with how things are progressing. Wishing you equal pleasure in your work, whatever it is that is capturing your heart, but hoping you are sound asleep right now and that your weather is a bit warmer than we're having here.

©Carol Leigh

Raven on Blue

A bit of corvidosity to begin my day! ©Carol Leigh

Looking Seaward

Yup, another crow! ©Carol Leigh

Raven Paints Light

I made this photomontage using photos I'd taken of architecture in Santa Fe. A raven, some splatters, and it's finished. Available as a print, gallery wrap, or notecards here in the "Miscellaneous" gallery.

Raven, Santa Fe #1 (original collage)

"Raven, Santa Fe #1"
I made this collage using blue, black, and warm brown mulberry papers, rice paper, calligraphy from an 1880s Japanese book on philosophy, acrylic paint, and a raven photomontage that I printed on Japanese rice paper. (See below for a close-up photo of part of the collage.) What's especially fun for me is incorporating my photography into the collage. Hope you enjoy seeing what I'm doing!

 

Size: 6½" x 4½" in an 11" x 14" mat, ready to pop into an 11" x 14" frame (not included). Price: $80, which includes First Class Mail shipping. To order, please visit my online store:  http://shop.carolleigh.net

©Carol Leigh, overwhelmed by the possibilities!