Kat Eye Studio

Archives for June 2012

by

And it begins…

It starts with a trickle, and will end in a flood. Not water, but mail! The Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap becomes official for me when the first postcards arrive. I’ve received four envelopes so far, one from our first international participant, yay! There are 210 artists signed up so far for the swap, but there is plenty of room for more. Please continue to share with your artist friends! Send them to the Liberate Your Art page on my site or share the Facebook Event. So exciting!

One great thing about a swap with artists is that they sometimes like to decorate envelopes! As they come in, I’ll share a few here on the blog. Today’s beautiful mail art is from Marie Johanson. I love the bright colors and the glittery symbol for beauty. Thanks Marie, for this little bit of happy mail!

And it’s time to share some of my own painted art, for Paint Party Friday. I continue to work on both paintings I started two weeks ago. One of them I love how it’s going, I’m sharing the progress on that one here. It’s not done yet, but I feel like it’s getting close. I know what to do next.

The other, well, I’m really not happy with it right now so I’m not going to share until I push past this point. I just want to stab my brushes through the canvas I so dislike it at the moment. Maybe that’s what I should do! Any advice from you regular painters, on how to move forward on a piece you do not like?

PS – And would you like to help me win a Vespa? Read more here.

by

Would you help me win a Vespa?

Last year, as I was learning to ride my scooter, I told my husband, “Someday I will have a red Vespa. And I won’t have to buy it either!” He looked at me askance, as if I was crazy, and asked, “How are you going to do that?”

“I have no idea,” I answered, “but it’s going to happen. Wait and see.”

My moment has arrived! Vespa USA is running a contest to win, what else, a Vespa. I’m sure it can be red. And not just any contest, but a photo contest, called “Where would you Vespa?” And not just any kind of photo contest, but the kind you have to get out the vote for.

So, I’m thinking, I have a shot here. What do you say? Will you come vote for me? You can vote for my image here. Unfortunately, you do have to create a login, but after that you can vote once per day. If you don’t see the image right away on the screen, go look for this one of Civita di Bagnoregio in Italy:

Island of Stone, Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy

Island of Stone

Scooter Sighters around the world unite! Help Kat get the red Vespa of her dreams!!

by

EEEEK!!!

OK, you know that feeling, when you’re excited and nervous at the same time? Where you have a very cool opportunity but it costs some money or time or energy and you’re not sure you’re ready for it? I have that right now, this moment. I just registered for The Vancouver Gathering with David duChemin in October. It’s two days with David and 20 other photographers. As he put it on his blog:

This is a chance for 20 like-minded and like-hearted photographers who won’t have a chance to travel with me to places like Italy, Nepal, or Africa, to get the best of my teaching in person, here in North America. The weekend will be dedicated to talking about photographic expression, and how we accomplish that in camera, in post-production, and in the larger context of our bodies of work. There will be a lot of discussion, a lot of laughter, and a lot of time to think about what we do, why we do it, and yes, how we do it.

The first Gathering, announced a few weeks ago, was set for August. I was so excited to see that email. Vancouver BC is a day’s drive from here. I could totally swing a long weekend! By the time I saw the email in my inbox and clicked to register, it said SOLD OUT. Darn it! So I signed up for the waitlist thinking, Who knows what might happen.

So this morning another email arrived in my inbox… An offer for those on the waitlist, first dibs to register for a second Gathering added for October. YES!!! I’m in. I’m going to Vancouver in October, to talk photography with David duChemin. I’m so excited to learn from him in person. You all know I LOVE his books. Of all of the photographers I’ve come across so far, his images and words resonate with me the most. I’m also scared as hell, because 20 people? Yeah, I can’t hide in the back in a group that small.

Yesterday I wrote “It’s the act of moving forward, that widens the path.” Living by that, today. Excited and nervous at the same time. Of course, I will tell you guys ALL about it, come October.

by

The Path of Confidence

I’ve been thinking about confidence lately. What is it? How do I get it, and keep it? I can imagine confidence as a path along a ledge. If you move to much to one side, you fall of the ledge into insecurity. If you move too much to the other, you fall off into arrogance. How do you stay the middle road of confidence? That’s what I’m wondering.

For some reason, I also think of confidence as a physical stance. Feet apart, body strong, looking straight ahead, making eye contact with the future. The stance is grounded, solid. It takes more than a wisp of wind to break a confident stance. Compare this to insecurity, which I imagine as curled into a ball, trying to present the minimum amount of surface to the world. Hiding the face, protecting as much as possible. And then arrogance, which is similar to confidence in stance but not as strong. Looking up, maybe, or eyes closed, and not able to see what is coming down the path. The stance of either insecurity or arrogance is not as stable. Things you can’t see can hit you and knock you over.

So really, mixing all of my metaphors together, what I want is a strong stance on a wide path. How to get that?

It seems that I waffle back and forth. From insecurity I force myself to stand up and be confident to move forward and try new things. With some success, my confidence grows to the point I feel like I’m doing well, only to be occasionally knocked back by something I didn’t see coming in my arrogance or ignorance. Is there a way to hold the middle path?

All I’ve figured out so far is that I keep moving forward, pretending confidence when I don’t have it. Otherwise I’d be balled up by insecurity, stuck in one place. Hoping that my confidence, when marvelously gained for those brief moments, does not turn to arrogance. It seems to me a fine balance to hold.

I’m hoping someday, the path of confidence is wider than it feels right now. I mean, look at all of the things I’m confident in now, I don’t even think about, that I used to worry about or that used to seem enormous. But maybe that’s the key, the path is always wider looking back than looking forward. It’s the act of moving forward, that widens the path.

by

Getting Perspective

Time for an Exploring with a Camera check-in! As I’ve taken a look at my images with Linear Perspective in mind, I’ve been noticing a common way I’ll use it in my compositions. I’ll put my subject on the left or the right of the frame, and then use the street, walkway or canal to lead the eye further into the frame. Not only does it give a sense of depth to the image, but a sense of place. This images are not only of the subject, but the subject in context. I’ll share a few examples I’ve noticed as I peruse my images.

These vintage Honda scooters are not the cutest around. I’ll take a Vespa or Piaggio any day! But this one, with its cool rear view mirror, caught my eye in Northwest Portland. Getting lower and framing so that the sidewalk heads into the distance gives you a better feel. This is definitely in the US! I never saw sidewalks like this in Europe. So there’s a bit of a juxtaposition… A scooter parked on the sidewalk, but it’s in the US. Not so common!

From Water to Wheels, one of my Market/Wheels images, utilizes linear perspective in its composition. The men and the boat are the subject, but you are led deeper into the image by the receding canal and buildings. You might even wonder what’s around the corner. The lines don’t have to be absolutely straight to serve as linear perspective. In fact, it probably adds more interest to this image that they are not.

Last, I’ll share my recent favorite from Korkula, Croatia. The potted flowers on the side of the narrow walkway are the big subject, taking almost half of the frame. But adding the linear perspective allows me to provide context. You see the stone of the walkway, leading you further into the town. Don’t you want to walk there?

What have you discovered as you look at your images for Linear Perspective? Please Share! And be sure to visit the links of the participants. You will find some great examples!


by

Mail Call!

It’s time for an update on the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap! As of this week, there are 181 people who have signed up, and I’ve received my first two envelopes. Yay! That may seem like I’ve reached my goal, but if last year is any indication, only about 70% of the artists who sign up will actually participate. That means I need a lot more people to join up to increase participation over last year! Can you help? Share about the swap on your blog, twitter or facebook page. I’ve even created a Facebook Event to make it easy to share with your creative friends, click here.

Won’t it be great to have all of that art reaching mailboxes around the world? I can’t wait!

I can imagine some wonderful art coming to these rural mailboxes, can’t you? They were so cheery, with the riot of flowers surrounding them. I played around with the processing and created another Lightroom Preset called “Mail Call,” which you can download here. It’s got a similar feel to Your Art Here, but the result is a little bit warmer with less desaturation in the reds and greens. I like the sunny feel of it!

Today is also the day I’m sharing my painting progress this week for Paint Party Friday. I’ve continued both paintings from last week, but this is the one I’m happiest with at the moment. It has a definite aquatic feel and I’ve continued to maintain the wave shape that originally appeared on the canvas as I build the layers. I think I’ll add some white next and see what happens. Happy Paint Party Friday to all!

Upcoming Events