Texture and Color in Photography

Autumn leaves in Marquette, Michigan

Its been Two years since I posted here. This will change. I plan to make weekly posts of my art, in all mediums I work with.  The photo above was taken during a wonderful hike thru a state park on the way to Marquette. My husband and I had a wonderful afternoon exploring nature with our cameras and then went out to dinner at a romantic restaurant that served classic Italian food and featured red and white checkered tablecloths and candlelight.

The mud spot above was beautifully cracked with deep fissures, and the fallen leaves of every color added a layer of beauty in this rare shot.

Stay tuned, I will be posting Daily photos of Autumn splendor on my facebook page, Lily Silver. I will also post here between my other art posts.

Happy Autumn everyone!

Lily Silver, artist, photographer, writer and free spirit.

Collage art: The Science of Love

One of my early Collage efforts that actually worked out well is The Science of Love.

My premise for this work is Shakespeare. I get lots of inspiration from Shakespeare's works.

Midsummer Night's Dream Quote, Partially obscured

 In this particular work, I was inspired by the quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream;  (above). It has to do with finding a certain flower, that when you rub the juice of the flower on a person's eyelids while they sleep, the first person they see when they wake up they will fall madly in love with.

So, I thought, what if a scientist decided to distill the juice of this fabled flower, and make a potion from it, so that the lady he adores will finally notice him and return his affections.

I used a lot of different images that depict the scientific method, including prints of old microscopes, Da Vinci's Matruvial Man, and the diagram of a heart.

Closeup of Matruvial Man and antique postcard of a young lady

 Above: I used different layers of Golden Fluid acrylics paints on Canvas, adding the image of Matruival Man in the corner, and then painting over it. I also did some paint daubs in green and in white along the edge of the postcard of the girl to emulate a flower bower. I painted her hair a deep shade of red, and pasted the word "Adore" to the image.

I imaged my scientist as being shy, quiet, withdrawn into his plant studies. He gazes longingly at his beloved,

She does not know he exists. So, he makes a potion to help love along, in the hope of bringing true love into his life.  Will it work? It is an experiment after all!

definition of science from the dictionary, photocopied,

Above, after the canvas has has several layers of thin glazing to bring out colors, I added the snippet of text photocopied from the dictionary, the definition of science. I layered it with glazes of Titan Buff to obscure some of the text to give it interest, and used blending techniques of paint to hide the corners of the pasted text page and to blend the addition into the painting. The butterfly was added from a vintage domain free clip art disk, printed on matte photo paper using an Epson Photo printer. The Thistle is an ink outline of a photograph I took many years ago, using the filter in photoshop to make the image into an ink outline.  Paint daubs and some French script text behind the drawing of the heart add depth and interest and also help to blend the images together in an abstract collage composition. 

Clip are of an antique microscope and some textured areas blotted with paint

I added the microscope, and some random block letters to the upper right hand corner, to complete the visual idea of science and the scientific method. I used some heavy gel medium to breat lines of raised texture below the microscope, and some more layers of paint and glazings to add depth to the area. Note how the letters from the French text seem to just emerge from the canvas. That's a lot of glazes of paint to make it look that way.

Full sized image, a 16 x 20 canvas collage using paint, text, quotes, postcards, found art, clip art, and lots of time and imagination. The collage took several months to complete. 

The Science of Love, by Lily Silver, 2011

Collage Art: Yes, it really is ART!

Sunflowers, 2010 by Lily Silver, featuring old photos of my grandma, my father, and some of my own photography.

About four years ago I discovered Collage Art.

Now, that might not seem too big of a deal for most people, as Collage art has been around for a long, long time.

But, .......


Consider this. I graduated from College as a History and Art major, and had MAJOR class training in many art mediums; painting, drawing, ceramics, fiber art, 2D art, 3D art, screen printing, printmaking, calligraphy and photography.  Photography was my main emphasis as an art student, but as a college art student you are required to take lots of other media classes to get well rounded in art. 

Detail of Collage 'Vanitas', 2011, Lily Silver

Above is a closeup of Vanitas, a collage I did for my son for Christmas. My son is a Graphic Artist, and was receiving a lot of flack from his teachers at the time for his dark, gothic designs. I made a collage of all the great artists, from Van Gogh to Warhol, who did skull art. The term for art that depicts the fragility of the human life is called Vanitas, and the great Dutch painters produced elaborate paintings  called Vanitas, with flowers, decaying fruit, knick-knacks, all in a still life with a skull. This is Andy Warhol's skull image, along with the text description of the Vanitas form of art from one of my art history textbooks.


Guess what, in all my six years of college, I was never once exposed to Collage Art, except for in Art History classes, (I minored in Art History), and even that was in passing. The professors and textbooks talked about artists who used collage as a medium in the early 20th century, and just brushed over it. Honestly, Collage Art is often dismissed as not  'True Art' by the Art establishment, as they feel it doesn't require as much 'talent' as other mediums.

Well, I beg to differ. After being trained as a professional artist at the college level, and recieving a Bachelor's Degree, I can tell you that Collage medium is not an easy nut to crack. I've worked at it, for four years, and I still feel at times that I am missing it, not really making 'good' art.  It's tough to come up with an idea and incorporate different techniques and make it all come out right in the end.
I've had some major baddies, some I threw out or gessoed over.

Vanitas, close up, showing various techniques, blending of paints, text and image applications to achieve depth.

 Above, I used techniques such as paint blending, stippling, stamping, and numerous layers of thin paint glazes to add depth to the canvas. I blotted the canvas with a rag to get the grey mist or cloud image below the skulls. I used the blade of a palette knife to make the long black lines criss-crossing the canvas after the other paint dried. Sometimes the paint blots that I create make abstract images that are haunting or unusual. I never know what images will emerge from this technique, but it's always rewarding. Sort of like ink blocks. 

But I still love it, and I keep doing it.  Why I love it, I'll get to in another post, but I just want to come out of the closet on this and let people know that YES, as a professionally trained photographer and artist,  I love Collage Art. I love making it, and viewing it.

I love to be able to incorporate my own photography into these abstract creations, and adding text to the visual, telling a story with pictures, as Anne Baldwin stated so eloquently in her book on collage art.  So,  I will continue to cut, paste, stamp, burnish, assemble, paint, and write in order to make a very complicated and abstract piece of art that the snobby art critics, art professors and curators will say with  disdain  "That is not ART!"

Blimey,  as Andy Warhol said "Art is anything you can get away with!"   Yeah, Andy, thanks.  I agree. Art is subjective, each person has their own opinion, their own likes and dislikes that determine if they appreciate a peice or not. But, respect the work of the artist, please, whether it is oil painting, watercolor, photography, or Collage Art that is their form. It takes a lot of work. I've worked on some collages for months, others for years, trying to get the right juxtiposition of images and text o make a stunning composition.

It ain't easy, folks. But it sure is fun. It's my game of solitaire. My way of relaxing and trying to play with images.

Lily Silver, Photographer, painter, Collage Artist, and proud of it.

Vanitas, 2011, By Lily Silver, featuring the skull art of Artists of the Ages, all duly noted in the piece.

Cool Images for summer heat!

I don't know about where you live, but here in Wisconsin, it's been hideously hot.

Yes, I know, it could be worse, we could live in a place that boasts 100+ temps.

But consider this, when your body has to cope with the wild weather changes of the extreme Wisconsin landscape, anything from 98 degrees and humid in the summer to 40 below zero and frigid in the winter, have a little pity on us folks, please!

My favorite summertime pics are beach pics.  But who wants to go melt at the beach, seriously, when it's so hot? 

Here are two images that will hopefully cool your spirit and provide a soothing balm. 

The first, is a frequent site at Henes Park in Menominee Michigan, the rock piles along the shore that people have been constructing for fun. 

Rock Piles at Henes Park Shoreline, Lily Silver, 2013

The second photo is a close up I took from the shoreline at Red Arrow Park, a popular beach where people go to soothe their need for water fun. 

These goofy birds were settled on the pilions from an old dock, perching together like a bunch of old men at a tavern spot.  The diversity of the gathered birds struck me. I used a zoom lens to take this shot.

Birds gathered at Red Arrow Beach, Lily Silver, 2013

Stay cool in this horrible heat wave, and remember to take special care of your camera and lenses.
If you have a 35mm, be extra careful about leaving it in the car as the lenses can get so hot, and the metal (plastic) as well.  We don't want to sacrifice our prize cameras this summer. Take it with you, don't leave it in the hot car.

Keep Clicking that shutter button!   

Lily Silver

Raindrops, how inspiring!

Raindrops on garden foliage can give stunning close up shots  Lily Silver 2007

Sometimes we think that a rainy day is a bad day to shoot photographs outdoors. With the proper precautions to protect our equipment, we can take some awesome photos that might otherwise get ignored if we only shoot during sunny skies. 

 

 

Geranium leaves in Rain, Lily Silver, 2007

The possibilities are endless, just use your imagination. Flowers take on a new aura with raindrops clinging ot their petals.

Tulip with Raindrops, Lily Silver 2007

Foliage in the rain, Lily Silver 2007

Foliage collects little pools of water that add dimension, reflection, magnification as the dewy leaves serve as receptacles for the fresh spring rain.  That's just with the green leaves. Imagine how lovely a rose could be glistening with raindrops, or a spider's web? 

The next time you wake up to a drab, rainy day, don't let it spoil your photography outing. Just take along some plastic bags, an umbrella, and rain gear, and let your imagine soar as you explore the rainy day world.


Keep clicking that shutter button,

Lily Silver, artist and photographer

An Artist You Should Follow; Qiang Huang

Greetings fellow art lovers and artists,

Normally, I like to post my own artwork here and talk about it. However, I subscribe to an artist's blog and his work always takes my breath away. So, I wanted to share his work with you and advise you to keep an eye on this one as he's a brilliant and talented artist.

Qiang Huang has a daily art blog where he simply posts some of his work. I happened to see his stunning painting "Orchid Study 1" today and I thought to myself, "I have to share this with other artists and art lovers."  So, view the picture, visit Qiang Huang's blog, and sign up for his daily paintings if you dare. Find a little time in your day to view his blog posts, enjoy the work of an awesome artist and find your zen moment in the process.  I hope you will become a fan of Qiang's work, as I am.  Come on . . . be inspired . . .

All hail the reigning master painter!  Here's a hint, it's not me.......

This Painting is from Qiang Huang's collection, posted today on his blog to share, so I'm sharing it with you. This painting is called "Orchid Study 1" By Qiang Huang.

http://qiang-huang.blogspot.com

Click the link below to be taken to Qiang Huang's blog, and don't forget to subscribe so you can have lovely paintings like the one above presented to you through his mailing list. Many of his paintings are for sale, too, so let's support this awesome and inspiring artist!

http://qiang-huang.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting, and keep your own art journal~ whether it's a book or a blog!

Share the Joy of Art with Others.

Lily Silver,
Artist, Photographer, Writer, Proud Grandmother

Kidnapped by the Silver Faires

I am a photographer. I think I must have inherited a photography gene.  I have been addicted to photography since I was 17 years old, that's about thirty years or more of being a photographer.

Frolicking with the Silver Fairies

It started innocently enough. I has in high school,and took a black and white darkroom photography class. I inherited my grandfather's old 1944 Argus 35mm film camera at that time, as my father saw I was excited about the art of photography and bequeathed it to me. This was the beginning of the end for me. The end of a bland, art-less existence. I became obsessed: with photography, with the darkroom process, with riding around on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon just clicking pictures.

I was in love; truly, madly, deeply, as the saying goes. In love with the art of photography.

And, my grandfather was obsessed, too. He had a darkroom in his house in Maine, and spent a lot of time in there. I also inherited some of his lovely black and white photographs.

My Grandfather, Jack Leavitt, with my father, Jack Jr. circa 1924

Addicted to Photography? 
I went back to college in my 40's, and of course, signed up for all the photo classes, seeking a degree in Art with an emphasis in photography. I learned photoshop and entered the digital age. I still had to take a basic class in chemical darkroom photography (this was in 2004). I loved the darkroom. I became the goddess of the darkroom. I became a darkroom supervisor, and spent hours and hours there after classes. I could be there all night if I wanted, being a supervisor, with the keys. And often I was there until well after midnight. It was always ..... just one more print..... then I'll close up and go home. It got to the point where my husband would say to me as I returned at 1:30 am, "Where you kidnapped by the Silver Fairies again?"  Yes, I was. The Silver Fairies in this case being the Silver Gel process of developing film and black and white prints. Yes, I love the Silver Fairies, and I've been enslaved by them for years.

 As a photographer for about thirty years, I've accumulated a lot of negatives, slides, darkroom equipment, filters, cameras, and yes, massive files of digital photos.
 And so, what do we do with them as artists? They sit in our closet. We try to sell some, we try to publish. And then, with the advent of the internet......and blogging.....and websites.....yes, we can share our closet files with the world.

This blog will be part imagery and on my adventures as an artist and a photographer. I'll share my experiences with the changing landscape and the exciting new trends in the photographic world.
As fellow artists and photographers, or just plain art lovers, I hope you will join me on this journey. 
Keep clicking that shutter button.

Lily Silver, Artist, Photographer, Author and Historian