New art card designs!

Every now and then some image I have taken just jumps out at me begging me to rush it to card production. That happened recently after an early-fall hike of Elk Creek. It was somewhat overcast but that didn’t matter as I was under a full tree canopy by the mossy rocks, ferns and water. It was so quiet–nobody but me and Jason. We usually hike but I’d call this more “rambling” and “exploring.” We hopped along the river rocks and encountered a hunter’s makeshift shelter of sticks. We found a few LBMs (little brown mushrooms) and watched the dippers. The beautiful light was stunning. In the end I had trouble narrowing my choice of image to one from about 40 different possibilities.In post processing I softened the shapes of the trees and rocks to help share with you that in-person feel of gentle peace and the lazy flow of all the landscape.

In addition I have just finished production of two other cards. One is a delightful Oreas butterfly I chased along a trail just east of Mt. Hood. Butterflies are very persnickety and only once in awhile do I have the patience to keep trying and trying and trying and finally get the shot I want. Fortunately, once printed, butterflies are not known to fly off the paper.

Finally, with Christmas around the corner I knew I needed to produce a Christmas themed card. If anyone has begun to pick up on the trend, ever other year I produce a snowman card, though it’s never your “typical” snowman. Jason, my husband, hiking companion and expert tiny snowman maker worked on this one near the Elk Creek and Elk Mountain trails while snow was still on the ground in March. We perched him off side the trail let him watch as hikers passed in the snowy track to the right. In post processing I sought to play up the whimsy of winter in Oregon. That time of year is different here. No, there are not horses with jingle bells along trails under 30 inches of snow. Our winter landscape isn’t a solid carpet of white. But you just can’t deny the beauty of lush wet green moss and the smattering of snow. The smile on the little guy’s face sums it up for us mossbacks.

“Elk Creek Autumn” and “Oreas” will be available in A Framer’s Touch in early October in boxes of 8 cards with envelopes. “Snowman vacation at Elk Creek” will show up there in November.