Nov 17, 2014 |
So what’s a blog hop?
It’s an ongoing weekly post that’s passed on from artist to artist. It’s an online adventure in discovering new artists and the beautiful things they are making. Last week Jennifer McIntosh, an artist I met in a Facebook artist group, invited me to participate and I’m super excited to be a part of this worldwide art project!
Jennifer is a very talented Australian artist who uses various mediums to express herself including photography, painting, and drawing. She’s currently working on a series of charcoal nudes using her own photography as a reference. Check out her blog hop post from last week to see more photos and get a behind-the-scenes look at her creative process in this series.
Charcoal drawing by Jennifer McIntosh
Jennifer’s ability to create such beautiful art in any medium is awe-inspiring! Don’t believe me? Check out her painting gallery and her photography gallery to get a taste of what I’m talking about. You have to see her painting titled “Sacred Cove” and her fine art photo “Reflections,” they are my personal favorites!
Now, for you fellow blog hoppers, a bit about my art
1)What am I working on?
Since January 2014 I’ve committed to creating a new photo and 100 words to go with it every week. I’m only 10 weeks away from hitting the 1 year mark! Although I don’t think I’ll be stopping anytime soon.
I’m currently working on a series I’ve titled, “Life’s a Blur.” Each photo in this series incorporates a mixture of motion blur with a still subject. I’d like to think of each photo like a meditation: stillness in a sea of chaos. This is my first journey into long exposure photography and I’m really enjoying the experimentation process.
“The Pocket Watch Between Tick and Tock” Photography by Rebekah Nemethy
2)How does my work differ from others of its genre?
It’s not often that my fine art photography is “found.” Seeing with my eyes is only half of it, I also see with my mind what something can be and I do my best to make my art into what my mind wants it to be. A minimalist result is what I strive for.
“Steady Heart” Photography by Rebekah Nemethy
3)Why do I create what I do?
Why does a bird fly? Because it has wings of course! So, the simple answer to this question could be because my father gave me a camera when I was 14 years old. I love making things, always have, and the camera has been my go-to tool for a long time.
I do have a bigger picture in mind, however. I would love to be able to say one day that my art really contributed to something bigger than myself. That something bigger is animal rescue. Right now I donate 10% of my art sale profits to several animal rescue organizations, and I plan on increasing that amount incrementally until I can share 50% of my profits with the fur and feather babies in need.
“Fall Spectrum” Photography by Rebekah Nemethy
4)How does my creating process work?
It always starts out with an idea, and most of my ideas are inspired by subjects I come across (this could be anything from a flower to a piece of trash), but sometimes I’m inspired by a color, or as is the case in my current series, a certain technique.
Once I decide on a starting point I start to brainstorm the set up. This often leads me to hours of sifting through my prop drawers and wandering through craft stores for new materials.
Each set I make is different from the last. Building my set is a creative process in itself. Sometimes building the set can take a full day if my idea is very involved.
Lighting is the next step, followed by the actual photography. I experiment with my lighting and composition and reshoot. Light, compose, reshoot, and repeat. I’ll shoot between 250-500 photos over the course of a day or two.
The selection process is next, only the best of the best images make it through; maybe around 10 images. Then each of those photos are color adjusted and retouched at the bare minimum. Sometimes there is additional Photoshop work, but not always.
Then it’s time to write a story to go with every image. Behind the scenes happenings, my feelings about the photo or a related subject, and sometimes even poetry accompanies my photography when it’s published.
Then I start all over again!
“Autumn in Orange and Blue” Photography by Rebekah Nemethy
Continue the blog hopping adventure with these awesome artists on 11/24/14
I discovered Kali’s whimsical work several months ago on Daily Paint Works. She paints and draws a variety of subjects, but her florals and owl paintings are repeating themes and they are my personal favorites. Kali creates, and posts, a new piece of art to her blog every single day, and has been since 2011! Her daily blog posts are always about something wonderful/amazing/funny/whimsical that happens in her life.
“Saluting the Sun” A painting by Kali Parsons
Kali’s actively working on a number of picture book manuscripts and has just recently started working on illustrating a story of her own. When she’s not doing all that, she’s a wife, mother, and a teacher of 3 and 4 year old students with disabilities at a local public school… and yes, they do A LOT of art.
Make sure to visit Kali’s blog to read her blog hop post on 11/24! You can also see what paintings she has for sale over on her Daily Paintworks Gallery
I also got to know Divinity’s work through a Facebook artist group, and I’m particularly in love with her “Sensual” series which the painting below belongs to. She is currently working on a series of Chakra Goddesses and getting ready for her first solo show as you read this!
“Ecstasy” A painting from Divinity Chan’s Sensual Series
Since that first encounter with a box of crayons, which inspired youthful works of art all over the walls and furniture of her home, Divinity possessed a desire to spread and share her love of color with the world. Synergy of bold and vibrant colors, and contemporary imagery, marks her artistic style. Divinity’s vibrant images will remind viewers of the joys of life, and spur vision and creativity.
Be inspired! Experience “Awakening the Colors of the Soul” at www.divinitychan.com Be sure to visit Divinity’s blog too on 11/24 to follow the blog hop over to Canada!
Nov 14, 2014
Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
If you’ve ever taken a drive through the Northeast in autumn, I’m sure you’ve had a moment or two when the beauty overwhelmed you. The bright yellows, oranges, and reds against a bold blue sky on a sunny day has a way of soothing the soul. On the most frigid fall day the rays of sunlight shinning through the leaves can almost warm you with its fiery glow.
I’ve always envied the photographers and artists who can capture the big picture with such stunning landscapes. I’ve never really focused much attention on developing my landscape skills, although I know the BF wishes I would. It’s so easy for me to get distracted, and then intrigued, by the little pieces that make up the whole. This leaf is just a pixel in someone else’s landscape.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Nov 7, 2014 |
Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
When the idea for these photos struck me I imagined exactly how I would do it. I daydreamt of twirling around like the lady from The Sound of Music; minus the beautiful hills and plus dodging headstones as I deathgripped my camera.
When it came time to shoot, I’m sure I looked more like a dizzy delinquent high on LSD than a blonde nanny in a musical. Luckily, though, only the dead were around to criticize and they don’t say much.
It wasn’t long before I figured out that moving my camera had to be a lot less carefree than playing ring around the rosie with myself. I settled on 1 second exposures (rather than the 4 that I started with) and panned the camera slow, steady, and straight across the horizon.
I got kind of addicted to the process and the surprise of seeing the resulting blend of color. The rainbow background above was my favorite surprise. Below is a snapshot reference of the scene before I spun it away in my camera.
What do you think?
The scene that I motion-blurred into a rainbow background for the photo above.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Oct 31, 2014
Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
The air was as crisp as the leaves that crunched below my feet. I weaved between gravestones and the wind whipped up a storm of static in my ears as the leaves shivered against one another. The wind’s cool caress has always evoked an unusual calm in me.
Hypnotized by the wind, I didn’t notice that I’d come up to one of the paved pathways and I stumbled over the edge. I juggled my camera from hand to hand and eventually held onto it long enough to save it from smashing into the asphalt below. As I caught it, though, I hit the shutter by mistake and took a photo.
The photo below is what I found when I developed the film. I couldn’t tell you what other photos I made that day, but this one is forever etched in my memory as my favorite mistake. The tilt, the long shadows, and that one leaf that flew into the shot are all so magical to me.
The photo of the week, above, was made in the same cemetery more than a decade later… it seems like time can blow away so quickly with the wind.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Oct 24, 2014
Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
For eighteen seconds we jerked the crossbar of yarn around, not at all in sync. My side went up and Nick’s went down, my side got stuck but his side kept moving smoothly. Anyone watching us might have thought we were fighting over the background rather than moving it together, haha. I thought we’d have to redo the photos.
I intended for this scene to look windblown and chaotic, but my plan to use my blow drier on a bunch of hanging strands of yarn totally bombed. Not nearly enough power for the stormy look I was going for. Instead I asked the BF to help me raise and lower the background to blur it.
I was pleasantly surprised at the results, although it was far more serene than I expected. I decided to stop looking for chaos and enjoy the peace I’d found in the storm.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Oct 17, 2014
Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
Tangled up in numbers
I try so hard to clutch.
Moments slide right past us,
Every schedule like a crutch.
Tell me what to do, with all this
Invisible stuff.
Make me believe this substance exists and
Each second I get’s like a drug.
Time is freedom;
It’s what we trade away.
Monday through Friday I’m counting,
Eager for day to fade.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
I’m counting and counting tick tock.
My prison is real AND imagined.
Everything run by the clock.
Tumbling through MY minutes,
In a race that I can’t slow.
Magically at the finish line,
Endings like these always blow.
Turning a dream to reality,
It’s crazy, you might say.
My time will one day be all my own
Every. Single. Day.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Oct 10, 2014
Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
I twisted the crystal wine stopper above my set. It was like looking through a Kaleidoscope. I rolled it between my fingers until the colors and shapes called to me; they said red wine spritzer.
The last time I thought of committing such a crime to a glass of wine a customer asked me to do it. Just like my confusion about the point of keeping a wine stopper around, I was always perplexed about why anyone would cut their wine with seltzer or, even worse, 7Up. Just ask for a grape soda next time.
I bet you didn’t know I was a bartender in a couple of my past lives (okay I know one of you knew-but you’re the only one Ray!). Thinking back to my bartending days is much like looking through a Kaleidoscope too. Some colorful characters popped in and out of my world and left so many impressions on me.
There were characters I wanted to jump up and hug for getting me through college, and there were characters I wanted to strangle for keeping me well past closing time slurring, “jussonemore.”
If only I had my wine stopper back then!
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Oct 3, 2014
Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
“Don’t forget to take your favors!” Melissa, the bride-to-be at the shower, shouted. “Here, you want a wine stopper?” She shoved it into my hand and grabbed a handful of boxes from the dainty basket that held the rest of the favors.
“Wine stopper?” I said, “why the hell would I ever want to stop the wine?” I was the the cynical bridesmaid, and I was determined to make myself laugh at every opportunity ‘til the day my friend wed. I even got a chuckle out of the waitress.
It was more than a joke though, it was a personal truth. I’m not afraid to admit I’m a lush and I certainly do love my wine. The wine stopper, although practically useless in my mind, was pretty, so I took it home.
Here it is up close. It’s just one more layer on top of my black lace and pink louffa (yes that’s what the pink tint in last week’s photo was). I look right through the wine stopper and it looks a bit like pouring a glass of wine; from white, to pink, to magenta.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Sep 26, 2014
We’ve all been there, and by there I mean right smack in front of someone who just doesn’t see you. Maybe it was a teacher you were trying to impress in grade school, a crush who sat behind you in high school algebra, or that rude co-worker who doesn’t even glance in your direction when you give them a cheery “good morning.”
We all have those moments when we feel invisible and under-appreciated sometimes. But even when someone looks right through you, you are still coloring their world. My camera isn’t focused on the pink in the foreground, I’m looking right past it to the black lace below. It’s blurry, but it’s there, and it makes the lace so much more exotic. Don’t you think?
P.S. Can you guess what that pink thing is that I’m looking through? Give me your best guess in the comments below!
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
Sep 19, 2014
Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
I was ready to give up. They say the hardest step to take is the first one, but for me the 101st step is even harder; especially when nothing seems to be going right. I always have to remind myself that the first 100 photos are shit. I have to convince myself that if I take just a few more shots, I’ll stumble upon something magical.
There are only so many photos I could take of a backlit leaf, so I had to let go of it and move on. I hummed “Mad World” to myself. The lyrics repeated in my mind, “look right through me, look right through me-e-e…” What else can I look through? I wondered. This lace called to me, and this was that magical moment in this series.
What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!
