About 'Gumleaf-Art'

- how I became the artist -
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       I was born (1953) & raised in the leafy northern Sydney suburb of Turramurra. Until the beginning of 'Gumleaf-Art' I showed no serious inclination towards creative artwork.

       It began when out strolling one day in 1998 not far from my current residence at Cheltenham. My attention was drawn to a few fallen, long, elegantly shaped gum-tree leaves and I was impressed with their suitability as decorations for a text I intended to print & frame. (The text was a poem entitled 'Lil the Digger's Daughter', by Louisa Lawson - mother of the early Australian poet Henry Lawson.)

       Among a handful of specimens two did indeed compliment the layout of the text and the framed result was pleasing to the eye (& made a nice gift).

       Intending to dispose of the remaining leaves, I cast my eye to where they lay & their position formed a vague image in my mind. It wasn't long before the main features of the first picture ('Sentinels') came into being.

       From then on the shapes & colours of fallen gum-tree leaves became eye-catching, ideas flowed....

       The following year I was encouraged to enter one of 7 completed works in the Castle Hill and Hills District Agricultural Society Annual Show. Being awarded a Blue Ribbon in one of the Handcraft divisions for 'the Traveller' (No.6) was indeed a nice surprise, as was a second Blue Ribbon in the next year's Show for 'Underbelow' (No.10).

      By 2003 another 6 works were completed, followed by a period of inactivity until early 2006 when I chose to explore the capabilities of computer imaging software & digital images of the leaves themselves. This allowed me to broaden my ideas by experimenting with digital effects &c. with some surprising 'accidental' results.

       To date another 6 works have been added to the Collection, bringing the total (including variations on originals) to 43.

There are new projects in mind - time will tell if & when they come to fruition....

Thank you for your interest in the 'Gumleaf-Art' Collection,

Max A. Kramer
12th July, 2007

- Methods & Materials -
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'Handcraft 'Gumleaf-Art'

Collect a sufficient stock of leaves, press (e.g. between sheets of tissue paper in a heavy book) for at least 24 hrs., then apply a coat of acrylic varnish to retard drying out. (Note: Leaves can whiten if bent when handled or overly pressed. Colour fading can be rapid - store leaves out of light & cover picture when not working on it.)

Glue: Small amounts of rubber based craft glue. PVC is best for paperbark.

Objects: Join leaves together then press under glass before mounting. When mounting is completed apply a second coat of varnish. (Note: Do not use gloss finish as this will cause light reflection when photographing.)

Backgrounds: foam core mounting board (eg.'Sentinels'); framing matt board (eg.'Chimer'); reverse side of peeled colour layer from matt board (eg.'Desert's Edge'); printed paper (eg.'Sunset's Anchorage'); paperbark (Melaueuca) (eg. 'Underbelow'); computer graphics after digitising (eg.'Morning Glow').

Additional materials used: Gum-tree twigs & buds; Bauhinia leaves; Grevillea seeds; Wattle seedpods & seeds; Chinese maple buds; Stringy-bark, Tea-tree & Geebung barks.

Professional photography is obviously the best way to preserve the original leaf colours of a finished work. Correct lighting is essential to negate shadowing from the raised & textured materials. Flat-bed scanning more often than not requires removing unwanted shadowing, and if the work is larger than the scanner bed, 2 or more images must be carefully joined. Digital photography has the added benefit of providing an 'original' quality image ready for reproduction (and if desired, touching-up, adding backgrounds, altering with computer graphics effects).

Digital photography of handcrafted works by 'Rorke Photography'
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Digital 'Gumleaf-Art'

In the gallery's 'Digital Display' the first 6 images are selections from the 'Handcraft Display' with computer graphics effects applied. All subsequent images are created digitally, that is by simply capturing an image of the leaves (or other materials to be used) by flat-bed scanning or digital camera. This method reduces preparation to the removal of any outline shadowing etc.(Note: The necessity of closeup editing of outlines became apparent after printing finished images on A3(297x420mm)size media).

(Tip: Layering a scanned image on a black background helps to reveal blemishes surrounding the image.)

Then it's up to one's imagination and use of the software to produce a result. 'Goldpoint Forest' is the result of digitising only one leaf, manipulating it, applying an effect & adding a background. The actual time spent from digitising to printing was only a matter of hours (& a satisfying result for a first attempt).

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Home page photo & Maggie Pie.mp3 by Daniel H. Kramer.
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