San Francisco, August 17th – 23rd!

Weekend times are limited so get on it!
Check here for details and a coupon for $50 in prints.

Ada’s First Birthday!

Happy Birthday Ada!

Abers Family

The Abers Family enjoys farm life in rural Kennedy, New York.

Marner Clan

An absolutely amazing family.  I enjoy every minute with them.

Caitlin

I’ve known this kid for a long time–so proud of who she has grown up to be.

Ashtonn

Ashtonn graduates this month–an amazing girl!

Milan

Our lovely afternoon model for Photographer’s Toolbox Workshop, taught by Tanya Pearce and me (www.thepixelsisters.com) in Grand Junction, Colorado on April 30, 2011.

Isis

Lovely Golden belonging to Cara Golden–basking in golden light.

Mike, Jenny and Sophia in Cherry Blossom Splendor!

Lovely stroll with a lovely family through the University of Washington Quad in full bloom!

There’s a New Tale to Tell about Little Red Riding Hood…

…in which she takes home a poor lonely wolf she finds in the forest and gives him lots of love!

O’Rourke!

Bold colors and lively subjects made this one hour mini-session bold and fun!

Finca Alta Gracia, Jarabacoa

Author Julia Alvarez (In the Time of Butterfies, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents) and her husband Bill Eichner, own a beautiful organic coffee plantation high in the shady mountains of Jarabacoa, DR. Much of the Dominican coffee exported is from this cool, foggy mountain.

Cigars!

Watched lots of cigar making in the DR! I can still smell it!

La Esmeralda Chocolateria, Dominican Republic

Fantastic Tour of La Esmeralda Chocolateria in San Francisco de Macoris, DR. Most of the Equal Trade, organic Cacao is grown you see from DR by this family, the Rizeks.

Dave Davis YouTube Video Project

Just completed a fun YouTube Project for  Colorado artist Dave Davis!

Work included:
1. Photo selection for a video on Dave’s Paintings and another for his sculptures
2. Photo color and lighting corrections
3. Music selection
4. Securing permission from musician to use his song as the music bed
5. Arranging photos in a manner that creates a sense of flow and cohesiveness
6. Timing slide and transition times to correspond with the music beats and the song introduction and close
7. Optimizing video for YouTube for HD
8. Uploading Video
9. Customizing the Dave Davis Art YouTube Channel to maintain brand cohesiveness with his website and collateral materials
10. Working with the client on minor changes
11. Uploading YouTube videos to channel

Dave’s extraordinary paintings made this very enjoyable!

I’m a Getty Images Artist now!

Ada Abers!

While Amanda and Adam, NY certified organic farmers at Aber’s Acres, were growing baby Ada, Amanda was also growing her first crop of Anasazi beans!

Jade Buddha of International Peace

This photograph and others of the Jade Buddha and the grounds of the Co Lam Pagoda are available for purchase at www.keeshadavis.com. Let me know if you have any questions about how to purchase them!

Elizabeth, Killian and Eilis

For our 9 month session with the E,K,E family, we focused on the daily life stuff–Eilis standing on her own (she walked her first steps just days from these photos), how Elizabeth and Killian parent as a team, bath time, feeding time and whatever else came up. We went for a drive into Sonoma where Eilis found dogs, kitties and fun plants to enjoy! This was a 3 hour session broken up into three hour long sessions.

Lee, Amélie and Grandma Sally

Three generations women!

Sally talks about Amelie

Latitude x Longitude

New Century Tea Gallery-International District

Stop into New Century Tea Gallery to meet the kind owners, taste and purchase high quality loose tea and look at their beautiful furniture, including some very old items from Tibet and Dynasty period China.  And did you know that tea does not get stale?  It actually  gets better with age…and the price goes up with it. Some families pass tea down for 50 years or more.  Don’t let the prices concern you either, with fine loose tea, you can use the same leaves 6-8 times.  It actually turns out to be a better deal that tea from the grocery store and tastes MUCH better.

Sisters Baking Company

Two wonderful women, Jamie Sanders and Jen Norton, own and operate the fantastic Sisters Baking Company in Edmonds, Washington.  They make all kinds of wonderful goodies, my favorite being the Rain City Crunch available at Metropolitan Markets!  Get some and just try to show some restraint!

Te-Zoet Honey Collective’s First Hive

Labor of love by Alice Haberkorn and friends!  The bees are extremely productive already and they may wind up with lots of honey to share their very first year!

Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs at the Columbia City Theater

If you haven’t heard of Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs yet…you will.

Check them out:

Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs Website

Erin and Joel

Joel, a railroad man and Erin, raised in Palisade, are an absolutely beautiful couple who love each other and love to laugh. The shoot took place in Palisade at the home they built themselves and around the town they love. The couple has an amazing group of kids who love to hang out as a family cooking, eating, doing chores and playing. This family really wanted their session to be “A Day in the Life” of the Stephens-Marner family. I was lucky to be able to spend the day with them, capturing their authentic family life. What you see is what you get here!

Destry

Destry is an imaginative little girl who has vivid dreams that you wouldn’t expect a three year old to have. She loves to tell you her dreams and stories. Sometimes she is quiet and serious looking but will almost always break into an easy smile.

Colm & Rafferty

The Johnston’s

Archival Framing Tips

You may already know that works on paper are very susceptible to chemical reactions that lead to the deterioration of the paper.  Poor quality framing materials contain acids that can migrate to the artwork and cause discoloration such as foxing (brown spots that appear on the surface of the piece) and degradation.  Glue, tape, certain plastics, contact with metal, non-acid free backings and the hinges used to attach the work to the backing, can harm paper.  I know all of this sounds a little scary, but there are many simple steps you can take in order to preserve your artwork.  First, all materials used in the framing process should be conservation quality.  Be careful though, because many so called “acid-free” products are made from wood pulp that has been treated with an alkali buffer.  While the acid content is reduced from these materials, it is not eliminated entirely.  Eventually, the acid in the materials will reassert themselves and the damage to your artwork begins.  Conservators use only 100% cotton rag mattes since cotton is 99% acid free.  In order to prevent chemical damage to your artwork, your framing materials should have neutral pH of 7 with a 2% alkali reserve.  The reserve serves as a buffer against the small amount of acid in the matte.  Make some calls to local framers and ask them about the pH and reserve percentage of their acid-free mattes.  Any reputable framer will know this information about their products.

When hinges are applied to the artwork to attach it to the backing, take care that they are also acid free, break-away (so that removing them won’t tear the paper) and that the glue used is “wheat starch paste.”  Never use masking or pressure sensitive tape to attach work to the backing.

A glazing such as glass, Plexiglas or Perspex should be used when framing works on paper but be sure that a spacer is used to prevent the work from touching the glazing.  Perspex is an unbreakable plastic material but is expensive and can scratch easily.  While work can be irreparably damaged by broken glass, the risk tends to be higher in areas with seismic activity.  Glass, rather than Perspex, should be used on powdery works such as charcoals and pastels since plastics have a static charge that can actually remove the media from the paper.  Again, make sure that any glazing you use for any piece is conservation quality.  Conservation glass and conservation Plexiglas filters 97 to 99% of harmful UV rays that can cause your piece to fade quickly.  Remember from childhood what happens to construction paper when it is exposed to light?  The same could occur with your watercolor or the signature on an important historical document.  Also remember that oil paintings should never have any glazing put in front of them since oils continue to emit chemicals throughout the life of the painting.

The frame you choose for the piece should not only fit the genre and appearance of the work, but should also be slightly larger than the work itself to allow for expansion and contraction of the artwork.  Cutting a piece of artwork to fit a frame is not recommended because the piece will immediately lose value.  Finally, every piece should have an acid-free, paper backing to prevent dust, insects and other contaminants from entering the piece while still allowing the piece to breathe.

Even with all of these precautions, it is still advisable to have your pieces evaluated every five to seven years to assess any damage that might be occurring.  Your artwork should last for a lifetime and beyond if you are proactive with your preservation efforts!

Copyright  Keesha Davis 2003.  All rights reserved.

Elizabeth & Eilis

Baloney Tongue

Don’t forget the silly pictures!

Reminder!

Carl

Carl is brave, even though we don’t know each other very well.  He’s a bit dramatic, albeit in an understated way. Carl and I met on the street and I found him to be a big personality in a tiny little body.

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Punkin

Punkin demonstrates both the serious intensity and complete goofiness that defines the Doberman breed during his photo shoot.  A rescue at age 5, Punkin went from sitting by himself on a hard concrete slab in the tiny back yard of a condominium to being a spoiled and well-loved poochy who barely ever leaves his Mom’s side.  He’s very photogenic, don’t you think?