Mix Tapes i Vintage/Retro inspired

Mix Tapes 

8" x 8" Coloursofts on Pastelbord

The second of my vintage/retro square series.

They are both $200 each. If you are interested email me at nicolecaulfield@gmail.com 

More to come soon!

Talk To Me

I am in the mood for some small pieces! This little guy (8x8) is an experiment with the pattern in the background as well as the square format. I always avoided the square format but after having to use square photos to submit photos from my food blog I am brave enough to try some. The trick seems to be crop, crop, crop, and don't do things straight!

Talk To Me

8" x 8"

Coloursofts on Grey Pastelbord

Vintage Stirrers

My new vintage find that will hopefully find their way into a still-life. 

They were found at a garage sale that was really an estate sale after a death. They are just a sampling of a large collection of swizzle sticks that apparently the owner collected from restaurants and bars over the years. They really intrigue me as I can't really remember this being a thing. I remember my parents collecting matchbooks from places, but I can't remember my Shirley Temples being adorned with such cute accessories. I do see large collections of them often at the antique dealers and yard sales, so I know it must have been a thing. Which years they were the most popular and when these are from would be nice to know. 

Don't you love the cow, and the woman figure, and the Sea Breeze. Sigh. I need to figure out how to use them.

Here's some info I found on swizzle sticks:

A brief description from Wisegeek

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-swizzle-stick.htm

The Rum Swizzle which they may have been created for in the 30's.


http://www.caribbeantravelmag.com/articles/rum-swizzle-0

& I got my answer about the glasses from Wiki. The Collins glass is taller and thinner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highball_glass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collins_glass

The beginnings of a drawing

I am a member of the Colored Pencil Artists and Lovers on Facebook and they recently started talking about how to take reference photographs, so I thought I would show you the beginnings of something.

I am starting a new vending machine piece that will be 18" x 24" and have 3 machines, each with a different color fruit. My mom actually told me I should do it and I thought she was right! I only have one bubble gum machine, so I photographed the vending machines separately and will combine them on the board. Just like my other image I want very bright light with just a hint of a shadow and an all white background. I may make it look like it is on a white shelf like Wayne Thiebauld did with his bubble gum machines. As soon as my Mom suggested doing 3 I thought of his painting!

Here is one of the 3 reference photos. There IS side light, but it is subtle. All the colors are very bright. My printer always prints darker than my screen, so I will compensate by setting it lighter in photoshop and upping the color saturation when I print. 

To photograph this type of lighting I have one foam board on the bottom, and one of those tri-fold foam boards kids use for projects in the back (you can spray paint them different colors) turned a little on the lit side to let light in. I have it all set up in my garage with the set up turned to the side, so the light comes in at an angle. The rest of the garage is dark, but gives off plenty of reflected light. You can do the same setup in front of slider doors inside. Its best (I think) to do it on an overcast day or from North light, but you can't ever count on that. If it is terribly bright you can move further into the garage. 

This is just one of the ways I might light/photograph a set up. It is great for high key situations. 

Some other lighting tips can be found here:

 http://www.nicolecaulfieldfineart.blogspot.com/search/label/photography

http://www.nicolecaulfieldfineart.blogspot.com/2011/02/2-light-sources-versus-1-light-source.html

Vending Machine

I just finished a little piece - again with a healthy twist. I had to smuggle my daughter's gumball machine for this one. She had said I COULD NOT put fruit in it. What can I say - bad Mom.

Vending Machine

8" x 10" Colored Pencil on Pastelbord