Year of the Rooster

 

I was just playing around with papers, wondering what I could do with this colorful Lunar New Year stamp from 2017. The colors really caught my eye, so I used black, red, and gold to enhance and complement the stamp. My original version was tall and narrow; I also have it in a square format, where the stamp is more prominent. Gotta say, I like them both!

Both formats are available at Fine Art America / Pixels. To see a high-resolution version, here's a link to the square picture:

Year of the Rooster

©2020 Carol Leigh

Recent work: "Old Envelopes"

 

Old collages and new colors come together in this mixed media piece. I particularly like the bright blue colors combined with a slash of red-orange at the bottom.

To see a high-resolution version of this piece, here's a link to it on Fine Art America/Pixels:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/old-envelopes-carol-leigh.html

Thanks for taking a look at my work.

©Copyright 2020 Carol Leigh

Recent work: "Time Shift"

This image began as a physical collage, to which I added hand-painted papers, postage stamps from my collection, a photograph of pilings sticking out of the water, a sketch of Mt. Fuji, and more.

I really like the big, bold red element, as well as the tiny little image of Mt. Fuji bottom right.

To see a high-resolution version of each of these pictures at Fine Art America / Pixels, here's a link for you:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/time-shift-carol-leigh.html

Copyright ©2020 Carol Leigh

Recent work: "Lighthearted Heart"

This is a handmade card I created for my husband Chris. I liked it a lot (as did he) and so I then scanned it and posted it to my collection of images at Fine Art America / Pixels. If you'd like to see the picture at high-resolution, here's the link:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/lighthearted-heart-carol-leigh.html 

Copyright ©2020 Carol Leigh

Recent work: "Big 5 Postcard"

I hadn't made any "faux poste" cards in awhile, so the other day I came up with this one.

I uploaded it to Fine Art America (why not?), and here's how I described it:

This postcard consists of some painted and walnut-stained papers, drips of walnut ink on a piece of waxed paper, a big “5” I’d stenciled onto a painted page, and more. The orange stamp is an old Internal Revenue stamp. The triangular stamp is called a “Cinderella,” a totally made-up, fictional stamp that’s a part of my collection. The rest? Various bits and markings that I included in the mix. Oh, and there’s part of a letter someone wrote her family.

Overall, just a fun montage to put together on a rainy day. No deep meaning, unless you can find something I can’t!

If you'd like to see a high-resolution version of this picture, here's the link:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/big-5-postcard-carol-leigh.html

Copyright ©2010 Carol Leigh

Last work of 2019 . . . "Antique Japanese Postcard 945"

This was the last piece of art I made in 2019. And yes, I know it has (yet again) a Japanese vibe to it, I consider it different simply because of the color palette. There aren't any browns, beiges, sepias, solid blacks, etc. here.

I have a collection of old Japanese postcards from the late 1880s, and one of them forms the basis of this mixed-media collage -- the blue in the upper left. I added some of my own scribbles, postmarks, and a Japanese postage stamp that was issued in 1947. My own hand-painted papers are what created the unusual color palette.

Whenever possible, I make a square version of the original so that my buyers have a choice. Sometimes a square, or a number of squares, works better than one "full-frame" image.

To see these in high resolution, here's the link:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/collections/asian+influence

Images copyright ©2019 Carol Leigh

Triptychs!

If the format and subject matter lend themselves to it, I'll sometimes make a triptych, a combination of three pictures all contained in one frame. The result is a larger piece -- with more presence -- that works well on a large wall.

And that's what I created here for these three photomontages of boro paper from a kimono packet, protective paper packaging designed to keep the kimono, carefully folded inside, dust-free.

To see what these look like larger and in full resolution, here are links to them both:

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/kimono-triptych-060704-horizontal-carol-leigh.html

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/kimono-triptych-060704-vertical-carol-leigh.html

Images copyright ©2019 Carol Leigh

Recent work: "Three Eucalyptus Leaves"

Eucalyptus leaves have gotten my attention lately and appear now in a lot of my art.

What is it about them that's appealing? Well, I like their subtle colors, how each leaf is different, and their elegant shapes and curves.

In this piece (shown both as a square and full-frame) I've exaggerated the leaves and have added a handpainted paper I made.

And yes, I realize the irony of saying I like the subtle colors of the leaves, yet punched them up to make them VERY colorful!

Always nice to have options.

P.S. To see this work at full resolution, here's a link to it at Fine Art America: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-three-eucalyptus-leaves-carol-leigh.html

Images copyright ©Carol Leigh

Recently added to Fine Art America . . . "Shikoku Warmth"

There is a “pilgrimage route” on the Japanese island of Shikoku, and at each shrine or temple, you may have your book stamped with a singular stamp as a remembrance of your visit.

I have such a book in my collection, and this circular image from one of the temples has particular appeal. It’s intrinsically lovely, and to me, carries a sense of mystery.

I combined the stamp with some hand-painted papers I made and came up with this warm-colored abstract image -- both in a vertical, "full-frame" version, as well as in a square format.

If you'd like to see more detail, here's a link:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/shikoku-warmth-carol-leigh.html

©Copyright 2019 Carol Leigh

Recently added to Fine Art America . . . "Woman of the Kurofune-ya"

Featuring a 1980 Japanese postage stamp, this montage consists of various antique Japanese papers, inks, and my own hand-painted papers. The oil painting on the stamp was done by self-taught artist Yumeji Takehisa in 1919 and was issued in October of 1980.

To see a close-up of this image, here's the link:
https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/woman-of-the-kurofune-ya-photomontage-carol-leigh.html

Recently added to Fine Art America: "Fishing Vessel "Vivian"

This is a composite of the fishing vessel "Vivian," in Astoria, along with a number of other images also taken in Astoria -- one of my favorite photo locations.

I offer two versions -- a full-frame image and a square version -- so that buyers have a choice. Frankly, in this case, I prefer the top picture because the "3M" at the top isn't cropped, nor is the word "Astoria" at the bottom.

Either way, I'm fond of the complementary blue and orange colors, the overall grungy and weathered look, and the subtlety of ropes and masts in the background.

Here's a link to the picture(s) at Fine Art America/Pixels: https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/1-fishing-vessel-vivian-astoria-oregon-carol-leigh.html

Copyright ©2019 Carol Leigh.
 

My first sale with Fine Art America . . .

This is the first picture I sold at Fine Art America, back in 2012. It's a mixed-media piece, a combination of various old Japanese papers, called "Red Sun."

I didn't know if it would sell, since it's rather different. But being different has made all the difference. This is the type of image I enjoy creating, that makes me feel I'm an "artist," something that photography only occasionally gave me.

So I continue to create what I love, upload it to FAA, and go on to the next. Although a lot of my "straight" photographs do sell, it's mostly my mixed-media collages and photomontages that people are attracted to. And hooray for that!

To see the details up close, here's the link: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/red-sun-collage-carol-leigh.html?product=art-print

All images copyright ©2019 by Carol Leigh.

SOLD: Three "postal art" pictures . . .

I make a lot of postal-oriented pictures. Some are physical collages, others are physical collages that I’ve brought into the computer and tweaked a bit, and some are photomontages done entirely in the computer using my own photos, my collections of stamps, postal ephemera, and more.

I love making these pictures, but I realize they’re not appealing to everyone. I offer them at Fine Art America / Pixels because I like them, and maybe there are some kindred spirits out there who will find them appealing, too.

So when I saw these three come up as having sold the beginning of the year, I was pleasantly surprised. They are matted and framed exactly as the buyer wished (well, except for the bottom one). They make a good-looking combination, don’t you think?

Cote d’Ivoire
This is a print of a physical collage I made using hand-painted papers, handmade papers, Japanese rice paper, and two different vintage postage stamps. Here’s a link to the picture at Fine Art America: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/cote-divoire-carol-leigh.html

Nikkou Sunshine
This is a print of a physical collage I made using a spring-like Japanese stamp, handmade paper, and a monoprint on Japanese rice paper. Here’s a link to the picture at Fine Art America: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/nikkou-sunshine-carol-leigh.html

San Francisco 1952 Air Mail (Square Version)
Minimalistic photomontage incorporating photos of a postage stamp, the side of a truck, a rubber-stamped number, and more. I also created an elongated rectangular version of this image. Here’s a link to the picture at Fine Art America: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/san-francisco-1952-air-mail-square-carol-leigh.html 

(In the sale announcement that FAA sent me, apparently this photo was corrupted, and doesn't appear the same way the previous two do. Pixel mysteries . . .)

Copyright ©2019 Carol Leigh.

Latest work: "Heart Collage 653"

I’m making a series of heart collages that I turn into notecards or postcards to send to friends. The components aren’t really planned, just whatever scraps I find on my art table at the time. It’s fun, easy, and makes me feel good!

This one consists of a piece of brush-cleaning paper, a torn scrap of silver-painted paper, and a heart cut from a gelatin print I’d made.

The original card was sent off to a friend yesterday, but before it left, I brought it into the computer to be able to offer it for sale at Fine Art America / Pixels. Here’s the link: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-heart-collage-653-carol-leigh.html

Recent work . . . "Page 0419"

I am creating handmade Japanese ledger-style (daifuku) books, each page being a collage of old Japanese book pages, my own handmade papers, handmade prints, paint, and numerous other items.

I particularly liked how this page looked as a standalone image, and so brought it into the computer to make a digital print. This way I have the best of both worlds: cutting and pasting and painting in the studio, and then the computer processes afterwards, doing little tweakings here and there.

Here's a link for more information at Fine Art America / Pixels: https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/page0419cl-carol-leigh.html