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

Mail Art

For the past 8 years I’ve been (sporadically) making postcards and other mail art. Some are handmade collages, some are digital, and (more often) some are a combination of both. I also make envelopes, but we won’t be talking about that now!

Why make mail art? They’re not exactly huge sellers. It’s just that they’re fun to create. If they sell, great. If not, I still had a good time in the studio!

The top one’s my latest, focusing on a Noh (Japanese stage play) mask I photographed at a mask-carver’s studio in Kyoto, Japan. I added old postage stamps from my collection, bits of stained papers, and more.

Below the mask are a couple of the many I offer at Fine Art America/Pixels. If you’d like to see them in higher resolution, just click the links below.

The card “Do Not Affix Stamp” was used as part of a Dolcezza clothing line last year, which was rather exciting!

All images copyright ©2020 Carol Leigh.

Noh Mask
Do Not Affix Stamp
Mastodons Are on Their Way

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

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.