Photography | Janet Towbin

Drawing Inspiration From Kids

23/01/2014 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: JT | In: Art, Inspiration, Photography

I love seeing art made by children…and I love finding inspiration where I least expect it. Like on a cement wall in a hidden courtyard.

There is something incredibly joyful, playful and wild in these exuberant chalk marks made by children. They appeared this week on a long cement wall outside the print studio at the Mesa Art Center. Cy Twombly’s work immediately came to mind and now my fingers are itching to draw something wild and big with total abandon. I think I might have to grab some chunky sidewalk chalk and let my inner child loose.

Mesa Wall Drawing 2 3085 Mesa Wall Chalk Drawing 3085; 2014; Digital Photography by Janet Towbin

Mesa Wall Drawing 3 3079 Mesa Wall Chalk Drawing 3079; 2014; Digital Photography by Janet Towbin

Mesa Wall Drawing 4 3070 Mesa Wall Chalk Drawing 3070; 2014; Digital Photography by Janet Towbin

Mesa Wall Drawing 5 3059 Mesa Wall Chalk Drawing 3059; 2014; Digital Photography by Janet Towbin

Mesa Wall Drawing 1 3089 Mesa Wall Chalk Drawing 3089; 2014; Digital Photography by Janet Towbin

Mesa Wall Drawing 6 3057 Mesa Wall Chalk Drawing 3057; 2014; Digital Photography by Janet Towbin

Mesa Wall Drawing 7 3050 Mesa Wall Chalk Drawing 3050; 2014; Digital Photography by Janet Towbin

Reaching the Melting Point

22/01/2014 | Comments: 1 | Posted by: JT | In: Art, Inspiration, Photography

Every time I go to Mesa to work in the print studio I find something totally inspiring and/or exciting to photograph. I generally find things in the print studio (inks, paint splotches, palettes) or on the Mesa Art Center campus (astounding contemporary architecture and desert plants). I manage to take a gazillion photos every time I go there.

Yesterday was a banner day both photographically and inspirationally speaking. I found some Twombly-like children’s chalk drawings on a cement wall (I’ll post some images soon, I promise!) and a yarn store with an amazing button collection—but what truly made my day was a mural like none I have ever seen.

This mural in downtown Mesa is better than a lot of the ones I’ve seen in Philadelphia, home of more murals than any other city, I think. Painted on a large stucco building and surrounded by parking lots on two sides, it can be found smack dab in the middle of the business district at 220 W. Main Street. The mural literally made me stop in my tracks—I had to pick my jaw up off the ground while I simultaneously reached for my camera.

Melting Point was painted in 2012 by R.E Wall and Margaret Dewar. Their company is named Mural Mice which is based in Prescott, AZ. Melting Point is trompe l’oeil at it’s finest. The building appears to be melting, wobbling and oozing into a puddle as you look at it. The title has layers of meaning and refers not only to the way the building seems to be made of liquid goo, but also because it was painted in the hottest months of summer.

I can’t believe there hasn’t been more publicity in Phoenix about this mural. It is truly a masterpiece of mural art. Check out the Mural Mice website which has a lot of information about the Melting Point, wide angle shots of the building and other work they have done. I am now a HUGE fan of Mural Mice. In fact, I have a wall…

Melting Point by R.E Wall & Margaret Dewar 2012 Melting Point; M.E. Wall and Margaret Dewar; 2012

From Ordinary to Wow!

20/01/2014 | Comments: 2 | Posted by: JT | In: How To's, Inspiration, Photography

I can’t help but think Photoshop is one of the most incredible creative tools available to any artist/photographer today.

Case in point: a humdrum and rather ordinary photograph of a mum was easily transformed into a dramatic B&W image in a matter of minutes. It still amazes me how much this technique changed and improved the original image.

Using a simple technique with the Curves Adjustment Layer tool I was able to get a Solarized (or Sabattier) effect that totally knocked me out. There are a lot of tutorials online if you want to try this technique. Careful though…you might get hooked.

Be aware that it doesn’t work with all photos, but when it does the results are amazing. Images with strong contrasts work best. I happen to prefer solarized images in B&W, but color images are pretty cool solarized, too.

A special thanks to photography friend Jim Hulme who got me interested in solarization with his lovely photo of Naked Tulips.

Here is the original photo of the mum appearing in all it’s ordinariness:

Ordinary Mum photography by Janet Towbin

And here is the Photoshopped mum converted into a dramatic diva.

Solarized Mum photography by Janet Towbin

Are you impressed? I sure am!

The Enchanted (Raku) Forest

18/01/2014 | Comments: 2 | Posted by: JT | In: Photography

There is something about this macro image of a raku vase that makes me think of an enchanted forest enveloped in a blue mist. Funny how I have looked at this vase (by Richard Towbin) for years and never really saw the forest until I got up close with my macro lens. It is amazing what will appear when you see things close up—and I love using my macro lens for just that reason.

The Enchanted Raku Forest by Janet Towbin

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