Recently in Contemporary Art Category

Having the time with the 4th of July holiday I distracted myself from my commercial photography to my other creative endeavor, contemporary art prints, DOUGLAS Art Prints®.  Yesterday, July 1, I announced "nap time" and today I have announced 3 more new prints.

"practice" a boy playing a viola.  I love the concentration of this young man.  I also believe learning and playing musical instruments ad to one's creative ability to problem solve.

"the village"  is a photo I did for a commercial photography client of a Christmas display.  Reviewing it I thought it resembled a village in maybe the 1800's that I made it a DOUGLAS Art Print®.

"oberlin college" is one of a series of aerial photos I did for the college.  In my reviewing this image I found the color of the roofs and the sports facilities visually interesting.  

As a photographer I see the photographs as art.  Trying to capture a fraction of a second in time in a visually interesting way.  Photographers sell their photographs but somehow I found altering the original photos made them more interesting artistically.  I especially like using stark black and white with little detail.  I think they cause one to pause and consider what you can't see.  My print "the practice" is done based on that theory.  Visually it is no longer who the boy is but becomes "a boy" practicing the voila.  In "the village" I tried to alter the image to make one pause to consider exactly what the village really is.  In "oberlin college" I find aerial views interesting all on their own but the orange roofs seem to cause one to stop for a closer look.

The DOUGLAS Art Prints® catalog now has over 350 archival quality signed prints.

DOUGLAS Art Prints® • DOUGLAS Photography, Inc.

440-899-9300 or 800-226-1083

July 1, 2010 - Cleveland, Ohio - "nap time" is my newest contemporary art print.  This is a switch for me to using color and a switch for me to use animals, in this case a dog, as my subject.

My model's name is Scarlet and she lives with my sister and her family in Solon, Ohio.  If your going to photograph Scarlet chances are it will be napping.

I didn't shoot this with a new contemporary art print in mind at the time.  In fact I shot this months ago and only recently began to look at it as a possible new print.  I really attempted to produce a black and white in my usual and much preferred style but found it had to be in color.  This for me was a challenge but it ended up being a great creative experience.

You can see an even larger view if this print.  CLICK HERE.

October 13, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - Yesterday, October 12, I announced my intention to harshly edit my catalog of contemporary art prints as well as my wanting to combine the "Main" print catalog with the "Nude Prints" catalog.  It is done.

My plan was to have this project done for 2010, by January 1.  I wanted to have it done by November 1.  As things happen last night I had trouble falling asleep so I sat down and decide to maybe get a piece of this project done.  I couldn't stop.  Just one more phase and a couple of hours later my catalog revision was complete.

Because of editing and deletions I now have just under 200 contemporary art prints but I am pleased with my new selection.  Unlike before where I included things I really wasn't that fond of to appease a broader customer base now the work is all Douglas.  I also decided not to worry about offending people with my nude prints by having them in a separate catalog.  I am truly even more pleased with the selection now that they are all together.

The DOUGLAS Art Prints® contemporary art prints were always, for years, not much more than a hobby.  Something I devoted time to usually when I had a new print to ad and had the time away from my commercial photography.  I decided I had to devote some time to better organize and present my contemporary art and my enthusiasm got it completed long before I originally planned.

I take great pride in my contemporary prints knowing my fondness for stark, bold black and white with little detail isn't everyone's "cup of tea".  All of my prints are 100% total archival quality.  I produce the prints only when ordered and I hand sign each one.

Cleveland Commercial Photography - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. - DOUGLAS Commercial Photography™

Advertising Image Services™ -  DOUGLAS Art Prints®

October 12, 2009 Cleveland, Ohio - "the dormer" is my newest contemporary art print in my much preferred stark black and white.  This print is of a dormer surrounded by a classic tile roof.  Almost Hitchcockian.

This is another example of my finding a subject for one of my attempts at contemporary art while working on a commercial photography assignment.  Actually the home itself was surrounded with trees and shrubs almost obscuring it from sight even from the sidewalk but it was this dormer that caught my attention.  

One of the reasons I like to remove much of the detail and use stark black and white is because I like to leave much of what one sees in my prints to their imagination.  To me it's what you don't see that I like.  In this print of the dormer I couldn't help but wonder what the view would be like from that small roof level window.

Just 6 days ago, June 12,  I posted the addition of 3 of my new contemporary art/fine art photography prints, Douglas' Recent Contemporary Art Prints Additions.  These were new additions to a series of prints based on the belief, on my belief that "There but for the grace of God go I."

On April 29, knowing I had the images, the photography for these new prints but not being able to, or maybe ready to add these new images I posted an entry on my DOUGLAS Art Prints® blog titled, "There but for the Grace of God go I - Some damn ugly art".  I knew I wanted to get these new prints available for purchase and I knew they were of not only an ugly subject but were maybe, probably too real.  I sat on them for almost 2 weeks before I added them to my collection of prints.

Before I added these new prints I debated color -v- black and white.  Anyone that has seen my catalog of prints is aware of my "fondness" for not only black and white but stark black and white.  Originally I thought doing these prints in B&W lost some of what I believed was the power in these images.  I still believe that but the more I looked at them the more I realized that they were too real.  Last evening I knew I had to change them.

June 12, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - Douglas has recently added several new contemporary art prints to his collection on DOUGLAS Art Prints®.  The three we are featuring here are from his series of works based on being homeless and "There but for the Grace of God go I."

Ken from Mars

"In this print I do not see a wino or an alcoholic or a bum."

The print shown as it would appear in a 22.5 in. X 16.5 in. frame.

Larger View

June 11, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - Douglas, Commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Photography, Inc.,  is searching for models for a new fine art project for new works for gallery shows and a pending new fine art photography book.

Douglas is looking for both women and men, real people, from the ages of 18 to 65.  Aspiring models welcome to build your portfolio for free.

All information, requirements and the submission process can be found at:  Model Search.