Metallic Three

A "3" on the side of a building in Reedsport, Oregon combines with a photo I took of dripping paint. ©Carol Leigh

Clock in Blue and Gold

It's been a flurry of photomontageousness around here these days. This one's a combination of a clock face, clock hands, and a handpainted background. I love the colors and the textures, and as a Navy brat, the blue and gold always works for me! ©Carol Leigh

466 Meyer

I have a huge file of montages that I call "in progress." I work on them for awhile, but nothing seems to be coming together, so I set them aside to look at later with new eyes. This is a case in point. I think it's been sitting in the "in progress" directory for a couple of years. Today I believe it's finally done. It's comprised of various elements photographed in Tucson, Arizona. I love the colors and the texture. ©Carol Leigh

Cuervo de San Miguel

Various walls I photographed in San Miguel de Allende come together in this piece, along with some handwriting and a crow I photographed here on the beach in Waldport. I also added shadowing, texture, smudges, etc. Is there no end to this madness? I hope not. ©Carol Leigh

"A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free." — Nikos Kazantzakis

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." — Robin Williams

Sand Patterns

©Carol Leigh

Japanese Three

A number "3" on a train car combines with a number of photographs I took of some pages in a Japanese book. I created two different versions, and think I'm partial to the orange-colored one. What do you think? ©Carol Leigh

Half Moon A

The components here were photographed in Half Moon Bay last year. Reflections in the harbor combine with an "A" I found stenciled on a school wall. I added Kanji characters here and there as well as some other elements. What I like are the blue and orange complementary colors and the strong diagonal lines, not only in the "A" but in the overall pattern. There are a lot of hard straight lines, offset a little bit by some curvature in the Kanji writing (even though it's quite muted). I could do this ALL DAY! ©Carol Leigh

Free Flight

©Carol Leigh

Between the Lines

Doing a lot of experimenting lately. Ha! This whole process is an experiment! This piece is a combination of handwriting from a 1910 ledger book plus my own handwriting lurking in the background. It would make a great cover for a journal, don't you think? ©Carol Leigh

Feathers

©Carol Leigh

Below the Surface

This is a combination of photographs of metal, an old ceiling tin, an old key, one of my handpainted backgrounds, some paint splotches, and more. I like the feeling of something hidden, something to be revealed, treasure below the sea. ©Carol Leigh

". . . and the clocks were striking thirteen."

©Carol Leigh

Glass Oak (Quercus silicas)

I don't usually work with these colors, but this morning (can't sleep — huge wind/rainstorm going on) they are appealing. An old, weathered A&P worcestershire bottle created the color palette. ©Carol Leigh

Shadowy Golden Five

A "5" on a door in San Francisco plus shadows on a wall come together well in this piece. ©Carol Leigh

Nest Eggs

A bird nest, eggs, and my hand-painted backgrounds are what make up this montage. ©Carol Leigh

Four Windows

I combined a number 4 photographed yesterday in Depoe Bay, sand and rock photographed on the beach earlier this week, one of my handpainted backgrounds, and added various smudges. There's a peaceful feeling to this one, nothing like what's going on in my brain! ©Carol Leigh

Migration

When I was creating this piece earlier this morning, I was wishing I'd taken more photos of flocks of geese when I was at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge last month. I love using those photos in my montages. I then walked across the road to get the newspaper, looked up, and there was a skein of 13 big geese flying right toward me, right overhead, in perfect formation. Low and slow. And I with no camera. Sigh. It was a beautiful moment anyway.

And this photomontage? It's composed of a tree I photographed in the fog in Eugene, Oregon, some metal I shot near the docks in Newport, Oregon, and geese from the Sacramento NWR. ©Carol Leigh

Silver Face

Another sculpture photographed in a gallery window in San Miguel de Allende. I combined that photo with a couple of other photos of shadows on a wall. Strange, but compelling. ©Carol Leigh

Split Infinity

Rocks and strings. ©Carol Leigh

Corvus du jour . . .

Yesterday, between rain showers, I walked around the Port of Alsea here in Waldport. A crow sitting on a post caught my eye and thus became the subject of this piece. I combined the photo of the bird with three different hand-painted background photos (including one that had netting incorporated in it) as well as with a photo of some trees in a foggy park in Eugene, Oregon. ©Carol Leigh