Recent work: "Exact Fare"

There's nothing like a scrap or salvage yard to get my juices flowing. I can look at the scene and then immediately begin moving in closer and closer to frame exactly what I like, rather than an overview of a hodgepodge of "things."

The scratches, rust, and weathered paint on this old vehicle really added to its character. The “HAVE EXACT FARE READY” sign added even more.

I hope you like these two versions.

If you'd like to see these pictures blown up to high resolution, here's a link to my "Industrial Art" gallery.

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/collections/industrial+art

Images copyright ©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

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

Recent sale: Japanese Matchbox Labels

I have a set of Japanese matchbox labels, probably from the very early 1900s. The printing quality on them isn’t very good, with most of them being out of register. But that’s what I found rather charming about them. I’m also thinking that maybe they were “factory rejects!” There’s no advertising on them, so perhaps they just didn’t make it through “quality control.” Who knows?

These would look good individually or as a grouping — perhaps printed on metal to make the colors really pop.

Here's the link to the full-resolution versions of these pictures if you'd like to see them in greater detail:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/collections/designer+series+japanese+geisha+matchbox+labels
A buyer from New York purchased these two (of the 12 that are available). I hope they look superb wherever he or she decides to put them.

Images copyright ©2019 Carol Leigh.

My art on snow skis . . . cool concept!

Although I don't have a photograph of the actual skis, this is what the ski manufacturer sent to give me an idea of what the skis look like. It's an interesting concept -- original art displayed on snow skis.

So now I've got my art incorporated into a line of clothing made by Dolcezza in Montreal, as well as on snow skis. How cool is this?!

Images ©Carol Leigh 2019.

Recent work: "Small Tags"

These are small collages that I originally made as tags to go into the pockets of an accordion book. They looked good in the book, so I've added some of them to my body of work at Fine Art America/Pixels.com.

Here's the link to the collection, where you can see them at high resolution:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/collections/designer+series+small+tags

Images ©2019 Carol Leigh