It's a good day to . . .

. . . go birdwatching in Norway! ©Carol Leigh

Latest works

As you can see, I've been working in the square format a lot lately and I've been experimenting with bold, vibrant colors, creating abstracts that (I hope) get your attention right away. All have been created with my photos of boat textures, photos of paper I've used to clean my paintbrushes, photos of rust, and some plain texture here and there. I'm thinking these would look great printed on metal (oh, boy!).

These are named (from top to bottom) "The Deep End," "Sunstorm No. 2," "Sunstorm," and "Sky Into The Sea." Thank you for taking a look at my work. ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . learn to paint! ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . bathe with an elephant! ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . relax and hang out in the garden. (Old postcard found in a thrift shop.) ©Carol Leigh

Issue #2 of VisuaLeigh e-Zine now available!

I've finished my second issue of "VisuaLeigh" e-Zine and it's up and ready to wing its way to your e-mail box.

Issue #2 runs 30 pages and features these articles:

Composition "Bones": Shoelaces
On Seeing: View from the Couch
Light & Shadow: Car Show Shadows
Composition: Focal Points
Composition: Having an Anchor or Base
Composition: Weird But It Works
Composition: Centering/Not Centering
Bad Photo and Why It's Bad: Pumpkin Display
Lighting: Same Weed, Different Day
Photomontage: Why I Like This One ("Desert Windows")
On Seeing: What I Saw/What I Made ("Ms. Law")
Cropping Down to the Good Stuff: Orange Fender
Composition Thought Process: "Planetary Shift"
Composition: Shell Fossil
Bad Photo and Why It's Bad: Genoa Leaves
What It's Made Of: "Learning"
Composition "Bones": Balcony Chairs

Issue #2
$5.00
30 pages/PDF format

Here's the link to my online store: http://shop.carolleigh.net/main.sc

Hope you enjoy this issue! Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Year of the Rabbit"

©Carol Leigh

Buy a print. Choose from many different print sizes, materials, and framing options. Thank you for stopping by.

Train art

Nothing like poking around the railroad tracks and extracting little bits and pieces from what I find painted on the boxcars. It's grungy, dirty work, but SOMEbody has to do it! ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Window on South Dakota"

Various paint textures I photographed — all on the sides of fishing boats in Oregon. But then you probably guessed that! (Click to enlarge.) ©Carol Leigh

Raven on Blue

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

Sea urchin close-up

Close-up of a sea urchin shell. I purposely overexposed by one stop to achieve a lighter, brighter look. (Click to enlarge.) ©Carol Leigh

Major verticality

Palm trees in front of a turquoise wall photographed in Florida a few years ago bear a slight resemblance to vertical ink lines I photographed on a torn piece of paper in California last year. Florida's more colorful, but then we'd expect that, wouldn't we? ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Red C Squares"

My photo of a child's block forms the basis of this piece, to which I added additional photos I've taken of handpainted paper, cement, scratched metal, handwriting, and more. ©Carol Leigh

Word and Insect of the Day

Two B's. To Be. Or not. ©Carol Leigh

Munch Screams Pontiac

Today I found this orb (click to enlarge) I created some time ago and realized how it made me think of the painter Munch's "The Scream." Ha! ©Carol Leigh

Train Art

Well, the alleged "goal" was to get some plants for the yard. But when I saw the trains, well, you know how that goes! Perfect weather, perfect companion, perfect subject matter. And we did eventually get the plants — three perfect azalea bushes. A good day. Maybe even perfect. ©Carol Leigh

Latest work(s): "Red Canyons" and "TW"

I took a photo of scratched metal a few years ago and I find it's a "go-to" element in a lot of my photomontages where I want to add lines and texture. Both of these montages incorporate that same metal photograph. (Diane M., it's the background in that flower photo you have of mine.)

These two images are completely different, but I like the similar textures they have. The top photo contains just one photograph (my photo of the scratched metal); I drew the other elements. The bottom photo incorporates perhaps three photographs: a railroad car, a container, and (again) my favorite piece of metal. ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "San Andreas Fault"

Invariably, what I set out to create turns out nothing like I thought it would be, which is the delightful thing about what I do. If I knew what I was going to make, there'd be no point in making it. (Which may or may not make sense.) In this case I combined my photos of texture on the side of a fishing boat, a reflection in the water, a photo I took of someone's calligraphy practice, and more to create this image that makes me think of faults, earthquakes, epicenters, etc. I've been re-reading a book called Assembling California by John McPhee, and so I've got geology on my mind, apparently. ©Carol Leigh

You are here . . .

Good to know . . . ©Carol Leigh

Five Facts About Reading

Fact 1: Reading can make you a better conversationalist.
Fact 2: Neighbours will never complain that your book is too loud.
Fact 3: Knowledge by osmosis has not yet been perfected. You’d better read.
Fact 4: Books have stopped bullets - reading might save your life.
Fact 5: Dinosaurs didn’t read. Look what happened to them.

Re-blogged from http://rumputsantoso.tumblr.com/post/33551195476/five-facts-about-reading

Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Heading West"

I photographed an old leather book cover, burned paper, handmade papers, paint, folded papers, more book covers, and combined all those photos to create this landscape-ish image. I'm particularly fond of the "mountains" and the golden color and texture of the "sky." ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Approaching Spring"

A tree against a concrete wall offers a little promise of spring. (Click to enlarge.) ©Carol Leigh

A few days in Portland

I spent a few days in Portland attending a Photoshop seminar as well as visiting a couple of art supply places. During seminar breaks and an early-morning walk around downtown, I shot a few quick images.

I like the contrast of stark metal with the softer rose in the center in the first photo. Spring has truly sprung as you can see in the second shot.

The top of a light post stands out nicely against the brick background building, and an unknown person glowers above a little cafe. Finally, just had to take a photo of the windows and curved architectural elements in the Convention Center.

What you don't see is what a wonderful dinner I had with Linda and Hugh H. at The Fishwife restaurant. Fantastic food with terrific people. Thank you both!

©Carol Leigh

2.5 Pairs of Pears

I've been working my older photos, working with new techniques, new materials, new inspiration, and then uploading the results to Fine Art America where, to my delight, sales continue to come in. Here's a selection of pears I uploaded this week . . . ©Carol Leigh

A bit of yellow . . .

Lots of heavy rain and strong winds these past few days, so a bit of yellow is quite welcome right now. I've been rummaging around in old files, doing some spring cleaning, and gathered together these four: A Peterbilt emblem found on an old bus in central California, a cute little dog face on a train car in Oregon, steps leading upward found on a railroad car in Jamestown, California, and a "DANGER POISON" label on a train car, again in Oregon. Wishing you all a bit of yellow (and no poison) in your life today. ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Amoy"

Photos I've taken of stained papers, calligraphy, decorative papers, paste, letters, envelopes, stamps, and more come together in this piece. (Click to enlarge.) ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "On the Marks"

What appeals to me are the dusty blue, indigo, sepia, and black colors. I also like the simple composition and the way the more organic, rounded elements contrast with the severe lines and forms of the overall construction. Whew! Do I sound pretentious, or what?! Bottom line, this was a fun piece to make and I am fond of its overall weirdness. ©Carol Leigh

Kohaku chameleonii

I was lucky to photograph this rare form of koi, which changes color to blend in with its background. This red and white koi, known as "kohaku," has almost finished its transformation. Without the last remaining spot of red, you'd never know the koi was there. ©Carol Leigh