Tina Elkins Photography and Styling: January 2013


Conneaut Beach in the headlights ©Tina Elkins 2013

I started the new year out right on the usually frozen beaches of Lake Erie! We had a freak 60º day a couple of weeks ago, soon after New Years day, which allowed my son to do a science fair project on microplastics found on Great Lakes beaches.

Whatever, it meant I spent the weirdly warm day in my shirtsleeves wading in the cold lake water in my rubber boots. (My son eventually took off his leaky boots and went in barefoot- not recommended). I took the pictures of course, and at the very end of the day of photographing sand and beach debris, this was my reward. I love unusual lighting as well as the dramatic skies of sunset so I guess this was a bit of a two-fer. Shot with my ASA cranked all the way, balancing my camera on the hood of the car, it's not that bad. Might actually have been good if I had a tripod, but such is life.

This was the sky shortly before dark. The jet contrails are unavoidable so I simply embrace them as some kind of emblematic writing or markings. As a painter I make a lot of these kind of marks on my paintings. They serve many purposes both in terms of the content of the art and as formal art elements. I use a lot of science and technology based ideas and imagery overlayed on top of beautiful color fields. I guess you have to look no further than this to figure out where I draw some of my inspiration from!
I'll post this on my long neglected art blog too (www.tinaelkinsart.blogspot.com) My hectic life keeps me out of the painting studio for long periods, but I usually go back to it refreshed and ready to make new art. That time will be soon; here in the dead of winter I will fire up my encaustic tools, torches, hotpots and hotplates in my unheated attic studio. You'd be amazed at how the tools, hotpots, lights and my space heater can make it pretty tolerable temperature wise.

Sunday, January 27, 2013