An Artist View Photography

The loss of ceramic tiles

2012-01-23T04:58:00.000-08:00

For years now I've been able to sell ceramic tiles with my images on them. The mainly consisted of words composed with a flower designed in them as a letter. Customers loved them and needless to say I sold a lot of them. I used them in the kitchen as a spoon rest or as wall decor attached by simply adding a piece of velcro.

    I've been using the same company for years to order them and they have been doing a great job. But now they decided to up the price to the point where I simply cannot afford to buy them and then try to ask my customers to pay 1/3 more then they were in the past. So the end is in sight for my little tiles unless I come across another company to make them for me at a low price without having to order 500 of each or put in a huge investment and make them myself. Which of course steels my creative time.

     So I'll keep searching for another avenue to purchase them. And if any of you know of a place, then please let me know.

     All the images will still be available on note cards. I will continue to make new ones like "Carrots" in that another company will come along.

Food Still Life

2012-01-15T05:51:00.000-08:00

This morning, while fixing breakfast I got to wondering what it would be like if I were born just 100 years earlier. Would all this fresh produce be available to me? Fresh blueberries from Chile, oranges from Florida and cantelope from who knows where. Would I have to had canned it all last fall and bring it out as a treat on these cold winter days? Will my grandkids even know what home canning is all about? I sure am gratefull for all the advancement the world has made since my grandmother was a small girl. I now couldn't imagine going to the store and not finding my favorite part of the grocery store, fresh produce.
These cold winter days are excellent for setting up shop to take pictures for food still life.

Above we have grapefruit and lace. I love to combine antiques with flowers. It portrays a quiet, relaxing, feminine moment from times past. I strive to make you want to take that much needed break to relax, savor and enjoy the moment. Cheesecake and Bluesberries and Yellow pepper below.

And the best part of doing food still life? You have to eat the leftovers.

Check out my Heirloom Gallery

The Westcotts

2012-01-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

Thomas and Mary Westcott lived at Westcott manor in Marwood, Devon , England in the early 1400's. They had two boys, Thomas and Stephen who would often play in the woods and gardens. One day while playing hide and seek they stumbled upon a tiny little village of garden fairies.
Garden fairies live hundreds of years and if they like a family they will stay with them forever. This village of fairies has been with the Westcotts since they met Furbert De Wescote in 1175 when he was a young boy in Exeter.

Now the garden fairies don't usually show themselves to the families they live with but Thomas and Stephen were so much fun to watch that the garden fairies enjoyed seeing them play. They both had a wonderful imagination and the fairies were very entertained.

Clover Hailleaf has been telling me the stories of both his and our ancestors being together for 23 generations. And soon their knowledge will be passed on to Dawson and Avery, my grandchildren.

He and his wife Gossamer have taken a liking to the new atrium in my living room. I've taken them in from the cold gardens Only you have to look very fast for if they think you are looking at them, they freeze and look like stone.

Well, I better get back to work with my clay. Gossamer is asking for me to build them a home.

A New Adventure

2012-01-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

I really thought that 2011 was going to be my slowest year since An Artist View Photography started. With the economy as slow as it has been, I've been avoiding doing art shows. There were lots of lookers but unless you were selling food, there were just not enough buyers to pay the rent.

But then it happened, one day over lunch with a friend. We got to talking about publishing books. POD's they call them. Publishing on Demand. Which means basicly....you do everything yourself. You write it, edit it, design the layout, buy the books and promote them all by yourself. Yep, lots of work.

I took on the writing of Second Glances, An Introduction to Seeing. It's a pictorial book about my Second Glances photographic collection. Second Glances started on the beach at East Tawas State Park in my home town of the Tawas Cities. While on the beach taking pictures of the sunrise I came across a really cool design the colored sands were making with the waves and just had to take pictures of it. Later I discovered the awesome designs within the sand design. It contained faces. Lots of them. That is when the game began for me. Every since then, I look just a little closer to designs in nature. You would be amazed at what is there, just by taking that second glance. And that is what the book is about. Showing you how to see the images within the designs of ordinary things.

So now that the book is published and is available through my web site, www.anartistview.net, Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles or any other book store, book signings are my next big adventure. Where do I start? What do I do now? Well, today I'll start by putting it all in motion. My first step, making a list of book stores and libraries in my area. Then I'll need a flyer designed to mail to all of them as an introduction. I have a feeling the writing of the book was the easy part.

Join my along my journey and be sure to post your suggestions of stores near you. It's always nice to see a familier face.

A fall trip to St Louis

2010-10-25T05:55:00.000-07:00

So I was reading the magazine, Midwest Living and they had an article about taking a trip down the Illinois river. Beautiful scenery, canyons, waterfalls and when we reached the end of the river we would be so close to St. Louis we just had to go there as well. Sounded like a fantastic plan so my daughter and I packed up Emma(our springer spaniel), my mom and dad, and were off on our way.

Our first stop was to Starved Rock State Park. What a beautiful place to spend the day. I had been practicing taking waterfall pictures so I could capture the water coming over the canyon walls. That didn't quit happen since it was all dryed up by this time of year. But with it all dry, we were able to climb into the back of each canyon and take some wonderful shots that would have been impossible with the water flowing. The place was packed making it hard to get some great shots without people in them. But without the people in them it would be hard to show the vastness of the canyons. My recommendations....go on a weekday, were your hiking boots, bring the dog and be ready to climb hundreds of stairs. It was well worth the stop.

Our next stop was Chautaugua National wildlife refuge. It was a little rainy that day but the forest was still beautiful and the birds where plenty. We went in hopes of seeing the white pelicans that make their home there. Of course that day there were on the other side of the lake.

Dickson mounds museum was next. The story goes....Dr Don F Dickson desided to start excavations on the family farm. Which turned out to be the burial mounds for the american indians who lived there some 12,000 years ago. They have a wonderful museum filled with artifacts and a awe-inspiring journey of their way of life along the Illinois river valley. What I found to be fascinating is that their culture really didn't grow at all until the explorers introduced them to their way of life and all the things they had learned to make and trade for a better way of life. This is diffently a must see place.

We were off to Beardstrom. The only place where President Lincoln ever tried a court case. And of course he got his man off because the farmers almanac said it was cloudy that night so the witness couldn't possible have seen him commit the crime. That courtroom is still in use today and tours are available by this very nice lady. She dissappered before I could get a picture of her and get her name.

We made it to St. Louis that night and stayed at the Drury Hotel right next to Union Station in downtown. I highly recommend this place. Emma was very welcome there, although she really didn't care for the elevators. Very resonable pricing that included the dog, breakfast, drinks at 5, a small evening meal and free parking. The hot tub and pool was very clean and much needed after a long day of exploring.

We visited the zoo and loved it. It is very clean and the animals seem to be happy and moving around so you felt like you were so close. This guy was in with the baby giraffe and seemed to want all the attention on him. He was posing very well so I didn't mind.

Next stop was the art museum and the botanical gardens. Again, very nice and clean. Oh and by the way...the zoo and the art museum has free admittion. The botanical gardens was 12.00 to get in but well worth it. And lunch is exceptional at their cafe.

We made it home the next day tired out and ready for the weekend to relax.

The one thing I do have to say......Although we seen some great places along the way, Michigan has the best fall color you're going to see in the midwest.

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2010-04-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

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Spring Inspiration

2010-04-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know of one gardener who doesn't start looking for even the slightest sign of new growth sneaking up through the last remains of our michigan snow. If there is even a hint of spring in the air we are out there inspecting. I'm so quilty of this myself.

And those first hints of spring are my inspirations to get out my camera. I've always been amazed with leaves. All kinds of leaves. From the new buds on the trees to the unraveling of the first ferns. Their shapes, their textures and even the many, many shades of color. I ask myself every time...."Who designed these anyway? They are fabulous!" Year after year I go through the same rituals, discovering, amazement and then taking even more pictures of them. I may have 20 images of grape leaves but there always seems to be another special leaf or bud.

Here are a few of what I've found in just my own back yard.

Ground covers, boxwoods, grasses,

lavender and grapevines all make wonderful subjects

to study.

To me it's all about color and texture. I try to keep my images to many different shades of the same color. To me, it seems be easier on the eye. A kinda calming effect. But don't overlook the importance of your lighting. Making sure it is playing off your main subject will keep it the center of attention.

There is no need to wait till the plants are in full bloom. Get out there now and discover the first round of amazing beauty all plants have to offer.

April Showers bring May weeds

2009-05-11T05:38:00.000-07:00

Did you ever hear gardeners say "just use your grass clippings for mulch"? I thought.... I've got a lot of grass clippings and it sure would be cheaper and besides it would give me someplace to put all those clippings after I mow. I gave it a lot of thought then decided that I would give it a try in an area that wasn't full of my most desired flowers. So I had this new area that had bad soil and figured the clippings could help. Every week I would use the sweeper on the mower to collect the clippings and spread them as evenly as possible in this new area. Seemed to be working great all summer. It keep the weeds down to a managable rate and keep the ground moist. In the fall even the leaves were added. Everything was working out fabulous and thoughts were taking hold about spreading the clippings into the main gardens.

Then....spring came,

Now I'm not too sure about ever spreading clippings again! With the new weeds and new grass appearing everywhere I have come to the conclusion that this is not going to work at all. It worked for a quick fix all last summer but in the long run, Forget it! Now I'll have to start all over again with clearing this garden area of all weeds. It might have worked for a lawn that had been chemically treated for weeds but not for just the ordinary lawn full of weeds, crabgrass and of course all those beautiful pesty dandilions.

There's a thought......I should just plant a dandilion garden?

Specialty Lighting

2009-04-05T04:24:00.000-07:00

Light is the first and formost importance of a beautiful photo and getting it right holds the different in between a great image and an image that will just be OK. I've been working on a technigue that isn't as easy as it seems. It's all about adding that extra lighting when the lighting just wasn't there to begin with or maybe it was there but wasn't as dramatic as what I had hoped for.

I knew I wanted to work with candle light so I composed an image that I could visualize where the light was heading and what I wanted to stand out the most. At this point I wasn't too concerned with light. I need just enough to show detail and some shadowing. Then I imported the image and desaturated it. The next step was to get my base color on the image by giving the print and overall deep brown cast using the color adjustments. With a new layer above this one, change the blending mode to multiply and make it a smart layer. Now use the lighting effects to highlight the points of interest. I used two. One for the candle and one for the book adjusting the lighting effects for a soft yellow light. I then made another layer above this one and changed the blending mode to color dodge. Using a yellow and orange paint and the paint brush, the image started to come alive with every stoke of my brush. A little vignette on another layer and few extra things like highlighting the candle wick and the image was done.

Ski Weekend

2009-03-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

My husband, Jerry and I traveled up to Belair MI this past weekend to go skiing at Schuss Mountain. I figured out that I've been going there one weekend every year for about 20 years now. It started when the Tedrick lab, a few photographers and their staff started going up to just have a good time and ski. If it weren't for them I probably never would have started skiing.
Many years were spent with just the girls going up. We all stuck pretty close on the hill since none of us really knew what we were doing. I remember all of us being pretty embarrashed when a little boy about 5 years old keep passing us up on the hill. He would just schuss right on by like he was born with skies on his feet. The fifth time he past us, he stopped, looked at us funny, then asked, "Are you ladies OK?" We had been falling and laughing so hard on our first run down that this little guy just couldn't help himself. We were all shamed into watching a video on skiing. We did much better after that.
Years later I'm still just as much afraid of those slopes. Although it doesn't take me 2 hours to get down anymore the fear is still there. Jer learned just four years ago and he is the one who looks after me. I guess I better go watch that video again because it won't be long before we start taking the grandkids.

Photo Montage for my bio.

2009-02-16T12:19:00.001-08:00

This past week I had to work on updating my bio. If you've ever had to write one, it really makes you stop and think about who you really are and what you have been doing with yourself. It makes you sum up all those crazy fly by weeks and months that make us say "where did all that time go anyway?"

After finishing mine I got to thinking about a picture that needed to go along with it. Do I even have one? Did I take the time to have a professional one taken..... no. (I know, I work with photographers every day, I have no excuse) then I got to thinking. Would they be able to capture who I really am? And then that lead in another thought and that thought brought me all the way around to creating my own photo montage of who I really am.

It didn't start out that hard. I've always wanted to use photoshop to improve the real me. The cartoon look is way out of my everyday world, so I started with that. Then came gathering all the images I wanted in it. Paint brushes, flowers, places Jer and I have traveled. One thing lead to another again and I ended up having to eliminate a few good ideas because my canvas was going to be big enough as it is. My kids will just have to wait till the next one.

Then came, taking out all the backgrounds. Lots of work but worth all the extra care. Arranging them was another four hours work. Then arriving at a pleasing color scheme was another few hours.

The bio is now done and the artwork was a rewarding experience. If you're thinking that your life is boring........stop and think of all your interest and try to write them down or create a photo montage to express it. I can guarentee you'll be amazed at your accomplishments.

It's time now to go play in the greenhouse.

Yellowstone Experience

2009-02-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

Last September I traveled with my family to Yellowstone National Park. I have to say it was extrodinary! I never expected to see such beauty!

You stand there overlooking the endless beauty and then that voice starts creeping in. You know, that little voice that says.. " um..excuse me.....but you do realize you are standing on top of a LIVE volcano?" It's funny how sometimes danger is so enticing. Even knowing that soon after we left, it rumbled for a day, it doesn't stop me from planning another even longer stay at the park. At one point while capturing a coyote coming down a path at me, it wasn't until the lens stopped that I realized that I couldn't focus anymore because he was standing only 3 feet in front of me (hoping I would get off his path) that I was in reach of immediate danger. The coyote crouched down and I stepped out of his way with no hesitation. But I now can see how someone can get eaten or stampeded or whatever. The beauty and ahh of the whole experience kinda puts you in a trance of sorts.

If you get a chance, visit but take at least two or more days to see everything.

You can experience my visit at

http://www.anartistview.net/Yellowstone%20DW%20Products.html

I'll post the coyote under Curious Creatures sometime soon. As I'm not done with the whole PayPal thing yet.

Announcing PayPal addition

2009-02-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

Last week I started out just tweeking the website. And you know how it goes.....one thing leads to another and pretty soon you get all caught up in doing ten things you really had no intension of starting until later. Much later...
Well, now I'm in the middle of adding PayPal onto the site. It's not as easy as it would seem to be. Just copy and paste this button on your site.........yeah right! @##$.... It's a lot of tedious patience. There's that word again...patience. It seems to be a constant lesson in my life. Not one I really want to deal with. Anyway I've come to appreciate web design people at a new level thought this process.
Please be a little patient and I'll keep copy and pasteing along.
Thank you!

A photographic season of fruits and veggies.

2008-07-12T05:20:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful summer we're having! And a perfect time to go out and get those wonderful images of summer while the gardens are in full bloom.
After lots of request for something different to hang in the kitchen, I've decided to direct my work into a line of fruits and veggies. Sounds pretty simple until I started the project.

This process started back in March when we heated up the greenhouse to start our seeds. Then the garden soil had to be prepared for planting and with weeks of weeding and watering everything is coming in all at once.

This weekend we'll be out there collecting plant leaves, bringing them into the greenhouse, setting them and finally getting to take the long awaited shots I've been planning all year. Seems it would have been a lot easier if I could have purchased them from the grocery store but without the leaves that come with them, it's just half the shot.

These images will then be edited using my close friend, photoshop along with any other computer program that fits my imagination. Sorting through at least 2000 images will take me all winter long to edit. After which they will be used for prints or even a line of ceramic tiles. So by next summer's art shows , a simple print of tomatoes or squash will be ready for the harvest, two years after an idea was conceived.

Our kitchen designs from last summer can now be seen on my webpage http://www.anartistview.net/K%20gallery/index.html

Enjoy and happy gardening!

A new season of Art Shows

2008-06-05T04:45:00.000-07:00

June is here and it's time to get going on the summer art shows. Every year we get a little nervous starting out because you just never know if we are really prepared until we're at the shows setting up. Then the inevitable question comes up....."Will anyone even show up?" And every year they do, and Jenny and I get to visit with everyone who came last year and the previous years. Like old friends stopping by to say hello and catch up on what's new. Thanks guys, we love it.

This year we added a new show in Toledo, Ohio. We're branching out of state even if it is only a few miles out of state. We hope to do well there since it is the Crosby Botanical Gardens and well, you know how much I will be fitting in there. Only problem is going to be keeping me and my camera in the booth. As I'm sure I'll be needing lots of creative breaks in the gardens.

Looking forward to seeing you at the shows.

Ann

this years show schedule

http://www.anartistview.net/Notes%20from%20the%20Garden.html

Going Green. Spring is here.

2008-05-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

Going Green!

Spring is here. Our long michigan winters really make you appreciate spring. At the first sign of color, any excuse is a good one to go out and enjoy it. Of course all those garden chores come along with them. I've been working hard at getting all the gardens in order for the summer. Planting annuals, perenials, trees, vegetables and of course planning that next garden.

I've been studying companion gardening this past winter and have tried something different when planting my vegetable garden. Basil with the tomatoes and beans with the strawberries. Sounds strange but it may work wonders. My garden journal will be filled with notes this year that's for sure.

This grass image and others are part of the New Blooms collection available on my website www.anartistview.net or at any of my upcoming art shows.

A beautiful day at Metamora State Park taking photographs

2007-02-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

It might be a long winter here in Michigan but you just can't beat the beauty of a fresh snow. Just after a storm there always seems to be that perfect opportunity to explore and enjoy the gift.

Ann