Bygone Era

Bygone Era by Kenneth Clarke: This is an unframed gallery wrapped picture collage on canvas with a 3/4 inch full bleed picture boarder. It is 16 inches wide by 16 inches high. Retail price, $399.00; plus packing and shipping. Purchase information can be obtained by e-mailing me directly at kccandcj@yahoo.com. Background: I created the above collage from a series of photos that were taken at the Neon Museum's “Boneyard.” back in 2010.  The three-acre Neon Boneyard houses more than 150 historic, non-restored signs. It is home to some of the most treasured and world-famous signs of Las Vegas — Caesars Palace, Binions Horseshoe, Golden Nugget, Silver Slipper, and, most recently the Stardust. Each has been donated or loaned by individuals, businesses and sign companies.

Today, 13 refurbished signs can be visited on a self-guided walking tour 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in our outdoor downtown “gallery”. The gallery begins in front of the Neonopolis at Las Vegas Boulevard near the Hacienda Horse and Rider and includes the original Aladdin’s Lamp. All restored to their original condition, the gallery extends to the 3rd Street cul-de-sac adjacent to The Fremont Street Experience canopy and includes The Flame Restaurant, Chief Court Motel, Andy Anderson, The Red Barn, Wedding Information, Nevada Motel, and Dots Flowers and then down Las Vegas Blvd North to the Bow & Arrow, Silver Slipper and Binion’s Horseshoe.

Reflections

Reflections by Kenneth Clarke:  This is an unframed gallery wrapped picture on canvas with a 3/4 inch solid black boarder. It is 16 inches wide by 16 inches high. Retail price, $249.00; plus packing and shipping. Purchase information can be obtained by e-mailing me directly at kccandcj@yahoo.com.

How it was Created: This abstract was created from a series of photos taken at the Spring 2009 exhibit entitled, “Gardens From Around the World”, at the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens inside the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. There were several fascinating displays that had water flowing out of the top of hollow glass globes as shown in the picture on the right. I took several pictures from various angles in order to get different reflections on the water flowing over the globes. After using Paint Shop Pro to clean up and color enhance some of the shots, I then used Scrapbook Factory Deluxe to crop just the globe portion of the photo onto a black background. Adjusted their size and arranged for a look of depth. After grouping and enlarging I then exported the file as a .JPG.

Lava Man - Guardian of the Canyon

Lava Man – Guardian of the Canyon by Kenneth Clarke:  This is an unframed gallery wrapped picture on canvas  with a 3/4 inch solid black boarder. It is 18 inches wide by 24 inches tall. Retail price, $199.00; plus packing and shipping. Purchase information can be obtained by e-mailing me directly at kccandcj@yahoo.com.

I shot the original image for this picture canvas while on a hiking tour through the lower Antelope (slot) Canyon, located just outside of Page, Arizona. I created the ’alien-like’ image above from the photo on the right. As I began playing around with this image, the section in the rock face that looked somewhat like an ‘eye’ caught my attention. First I flipped it. Then I cut it in half, duplicated it and pasted the two halves together. Finally I  enhanced the color and saturation until I arrived at the fiery ‘molten-lava face-like’ image above.

Eminent Danger

Zion B&W Series #001 by Kenneth Clarke: This is an unframed gallery wrapped picture on canvas with a 3/4 inch solid black boarder. It is 18 inches wide by 24 inches tall. Retail price, $149.00; plus packing and shipping. Purchase information can be obtained by e-mailing me directly at kccandcj@yahoo.com.

Ansel Adams, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the Yosemite National Park, is one of my all-time favorite photographers. Following in his tradition, I sometimes find myself trying  to view what a shot will look like in B&W, even before taking the picture. In many photographs, color distracts from the overall effect of the picture; whereas a black and white photo allows one to focus solely on key forms and details that are present within the image. Changing it to black and white tones down the distractions and makes the flowing shapes much more noticeable.

Background: This picture is a view of the Beehives inside Zion National Park. It was taken from one of the switchbacks along UT-Route 9 that leads up to the tunnel near the top of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. As you can tell by viewing the original photo on the right, I first cropped the image to help better concentrate one’s focus onto the two mountain peaks. When I captured this shot, I immediately noticed that the cloud formation just above the main peak almost appeared to look like an Indian smoke signal rising from the top of the mountain. To further enhance this effect I cheated just a little by making the cloud more ‘wispy’ and then bringing it down to meet with the top edge of the peak.  Finally, converting it to a black and white and enhancing the contrast not only brought out the detail of the rocky cliffs, but also made the cloud look more like smoke.

Smoke Signals: Many North American Indians communicated via the smoke signal; a kind of Indian telegraphy. Reputedly the location of the smoke along the incline conveyed a meaning. If it came from half way up the hill, this would signify all was well, but from the top of the hill it would signify danger.

Birth of an Arch

Zion B&W Series #002 by Kenneth Clarke: This is an unframed gallery wrapped picture on canvas with a 3/4 inch solid black boarder. It is 18 inches wide by 12 inches high. Retail price, $119.00; plus packing and shipping. Purchase information can be obtained by e-mailing me directly at kccandcj@yahoo.com. Background: This view was taken from one of the switchbacks along UT-Route 9 that leads up to the tunnel near the top of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway inside Zion National Park. Though at first glance this appears to be some type of cave or arch, it is really neither. It is merely the result of thousands of years of weathering which has caused the softer sandstone to erode and ‘wash away’.