Creating Holiday Cards with Ruth Clegg
Enjoy the creative process of designing a Holiday Greeting Card with Ruth.
Plan your photography session ( make sure to see the prior Blog post- the Value of a Pre-Portrait Discussion).
Visualize and discuss with Ruth your family, children, pets, home, boat or that special family place and how to personalize your images.
Determine colors and design that are important to you. Or just let Ruth come up with some creative designs. Once finished, those designs will be posted on your special area on www.ruthabclegg.com. Select your favorite design. Review your card list to determine the number that you need. Always add a few extra! Select an envelope style: plain white, or gold or silver lined. Determine if you would like your return address added to the front or back of the envelopes. And.... you are done! We do the rest!
Fall Fine Art Shows and Galleries
The Joint Venture a collaboration between the Providence Art Club and The Torpedo Factory printmakers, of which I am happily a Providence Art Club printmaker, is having a final showing of the portfolio created by 31 artists and recent work from those same artists at The Bristol Art Museum on Friday, September 25th. Past showings of this portfolio have been at The Providence Art Club, The Torpedo Factory, Candita Clayton Gallery and Hoxie Gallery. I hope to see you all there.
The Providence Art Club Galleries are hosting a Fall Member Show which has an opening reception September 13th, 2:00-4:00. The public is welcome. There will be some great work! Please come and enjoy the art and refreshments. My piece below is "Magic Tree" and is a collagraph.
I am proud to announce that I have been selected to be represented by Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona in the 2015-2016 Artist Catalogue. In addition I have work in A-Z Gallery in Wellesley, Mass. These pieces of art are all from my Underwater Botanical Series printed in Dye Sublimation. This process allows for custom sizing so that you can tailor your desired image to your home or office. Please ask for details
Rhode Island Collection of handcolored solar plate prints (Intaglio process) are available at The Fleur Delys Studio (by apointment only, please call Ruth at 401.263.4065), David-Max in East Greenwich, RI and Gallery Z on Atwells Avenue in the Federal Hill section of Providence.
Creating a Business Portrait
Creating a business portrait is a very exciting and interesting process. Each individual business person has a set of ingredients that defines them, their job and the direction that they wish to take. It is extremely important to discuss the current position that they have and what they would like to illustrate about it, who are their clients and how do they interact with their peers, co-workers and competitors. It might also be prudent to discuss future plans and what they might entail. This is the story that needs to be illustrated with the choice of clothing, lighting, background and location.
I had the pleasure of photographing Ashley, a Landscape Architect. Our photographic goals were to have her look professional, approachable, and competent. Her business generally focuses on large developments, public streetscapes, low income and affordable housing, as well as residential landscapes. This covered quite a bit of territory and different types of relationships, thus we needed to think very hard about the backgrounds and lighting to create the looks that we wanted.
Ashley decided on a white tailored top and a black relaxed scoop neck top. We looked for spaces with texture and foliage in the background. I decided to try lighting with hard back lighting, frontal full lighting and edge of shade lighting. The sun added some hard light for a main light, light bouncing off a building across the street added a kicker light to Ashley’s hair and the edge of shade created a softer more approachable situation.
Ashley’s final selections are both very approachable and professional looking. Each image has texture and the sense of the outdoors. Both will serve Ashley well on her web site, LinkedIn profile and any other social media or professional need that she may have. It was a pleasure to work with Ashley!
The Dye Sublimation Process
In January 2015 I had a show at the Providence Art Club of Dye Sublimation photographs on metal printed by Blazing Editions and hand-colored polymer intaglio prints. The subject matter was underwater plant life found in an Adirondack pond. I would like to focus on the description of the Dye Sublimation process which is a relatively new and very exciting process.
In order to transfer the image from the paper to the substrate, it requires a heat press process that is a combination of time, temperate and pressure. The heat press applies this special combination, which can change depending on the substrate, to “transfer” the sublimation dyes at the molecular level into the substrate. The most common dyes used for sublimation activate at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. However, a range of 380 to 420 degrees Fahrenheit is normally recommended for optimal color.
The end result of the sublimation process is a nearly permanent, high resolution, full color print. Because the dyes are infused into the substrate at the molecular level, rather than applied at a topical level (such as with screen printing and direct to garment printing), the prints will not crack, fade or peel from the substrate under normal conditions.
The Value of a Pre-Portrait Discussion
Visioning, discussing and focusing on an idea can be very exciting and rewarding. Sharing thoughts, expanding concepts and deciding on the final outcome are so important to any art project or for that matter any project. Moving ahead to the actual capture phase in a photography project truly demands a bit of time spent on discussions as to what, where, how and when. Visioning the final destination and how the piece will fit into the surroundings is vital to a comfortable resting place. Look for some great help here!
In the case of a portrait, final destination can determine the style, color or lack of color, clothing, orientation and the framing. If a family portrait is the desired outcome, it is important to determine what the location is for photography and how it relates to the family’s life style. Also the quality of light will be an important ingredient and the quality of natural light can be affected by the time of day. Early or late light will have softer and more muted tones while the midst of the day will have contrast and strong white light. An additional thought is the family members might be more comfortable in the cool of the morning or evening rather than the heat of the day.
Clothing is also important as a descriptor of personalities, and how the coloration will fit in the portrait’s final destination. If the wall that the portrait hangs on is red and the group is dressed in a version of orange it might not be a good fit. If the clothing is casual and the room is formal, again it might not be a good fit. It is also very important to look at body types and select the clothing that enhances the beauty of the subjects. Additionally, it can be very distracting if one family member wears a strong pattern such as bold stripes and another wears polka dots. The viewer will be constantly looking at the clothing and not the subject's faces which are the most important. Clothing harmony is an important ingredient to create a pleasing portrait. Although, tensions of multi patterns may be indicative of the family’s lifestyle and could be a rich ingredient for a successful portrait and in that case would be important to include.
Finally, the substrate that the image is printed on and how it is presented or framed is imperative to the enjoyment of the image. There is such a variety today of papers, metals, glass, and wood to print upon that can enhance your image. Possible proofing on some surfaces might be a great way to proceed in order to be sure of the final outcome.
Framing is another decision that can make or break the piece and should be carefully selected. It is best to select your frame after the piece is printed and ideally the selection should be made in the location that the image will hang. I am happy to bring selections of moldings to your home or office. My favorite moldings are from Roma and Larson Juhl. I also prefer to use acid free mats and UV glass. Once you have made the final wall portrait selection there may be images that you absolutely must have. An album is a wonderful medium with which to enjoy those images and a design can be created to artfully tell the family’s story.
The mission and goal of the pre-discussion is to make the entire process a smooth and enjoyable event, thus creating an image that imparts beauty and satisfaction for years to come.