Because of my varied interests and many different websites, I've elected to use my main blog over on Blogger.com from now on for blog posts. Please visit http://galleryjai.blogspot.com/ to keep up with the latest news, art, creations, and artist musings. :)  Thanks!  --Jai

Slowly but surely, I'm adding to the dog show series of ColorSplash Photos.  It's been a rough month around here, but I'm still at it, and hopefully by the end of the summer, I'll have all of the dog show photos and wildlife photos processed.

This photo of a Lhasa Apso turned out exceptional, so I thought I'd share him.  Check out his adorable blue Mickey Mouse shaped barrettes!  He was just precious and seemed to like the camera.  I know the camera loved him.

Fine art prints of this photo are available here and cards/gifts are available here.

One of the main reasons I love doing ColorSplash photos is because the normally "unnoticed" becomes noticeable.  

In many of my photos in my wildlife series, the animal is what's being noticed -- as it should be, since it's a wildlife series.  In this photo of the Macaque Monkey, however, there's a little something else the gaze would normally pass right on by.  Do you see it?  Click on the photo to enlarge it, and you will notice the pieces of orange fruit on the rock behind the monkey.  It's much easier to notice in my color splashed version of the photo, and it tells the story of what the monkey has been doing.  He's not just sitting on a rock, looking handsome.  He was actually eating a snack.  So now you know more about these monkeys than you may have originally - they like oranges!

Most photos hanging on the wall are only glanced at by viewers.  They're rarely studied intently to find all the interesting little bits and pieces which may be present.  By using the color splash method, I am able to bring out those little bits of interesting articles if they're present, and give the viewer the opportunity to notice something they may not have seen at first glance.

The more I create these photos, the more I realize how much they tie in with how I feel about myself.  There are interesting and unique facets about myself, my creative work, and my life which I feel are often unnoticed. When I was younger, I wrote a poem which illustrated it perfectly.  The beginning read: "If I were a flower, and you a butterfly, would you land on me, or would you just pass on by?"  At that time in my life, I felt as if most just "passed on by".  Funny thing is, as an adult, I still feel that way most of the time.  

Oprah said it perfectly in her farewell letter yesterday - she said,  "Ever single person you will ever meet shares a common desire.  They want to know 'Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?'"  Maybe I feel by bringing out normally unseen colors and objects, and that by bringing extreme focus to something which might otherwise just blend in with a background and become unseen, you might...just might...actually notice me (or my creative work, which is ME).  Or perhaps you may see someone else or something else in your life which really needs your attention.  Or it could be that you simply see a piece of an orange and move on with your life with no further thought about it.  But wouldn't it be wonderful, if that piece of an orange you now see caused you to pause for just a moment, and really think about those things in your life, or those people in your presence, you've just passed on by.

In addition to our wildlife series, we're also working on a dog show series.  We just finished taking over 2,000 photos at our local dog show in Jackson, TN, and we'll have several dog breeds for you by the time we're finished color splashing and uploading our photos.

The first in the series is a white toy Poodle.  In a color splashed photo, you actually can see that white isn't really white.  White reflects the other colors around it, while black draws color into itself.

This white toy Poodle photograph is available as fine art prints on paper and canvas here, and on cards and gifts here.

I've been photographing a dog show all weekend which has been absolutely entertaining, but it put a dent in me working on my wildlife series.  This morning, I finally finished Snow Leopard III.  Be sure to see my other blog posts prior to see I & II.

Snow Leopard III is  a stunning view of this beautiful wildcat as he stalks a bird above him.

You can purchase fine art Snow Leopard prints on paper and canvas here, and cards and gifts featuring this beautiful Snow Leopard here.  Below I've shared a photo of how the large canvas print (30x40) of Snow Leopard I would look in a room.

You can earn money simply by recommending the Color Splash cards and gift items.  Our shop pays 15% on every sale you refer.  It's very easy!  The first step is to visit Zazzle.com and set up a free Zazzle account.   Once you are an official Zazzle member and are logged into the website, click the My Account link.  Once you are in the My Account section,  click on Account Settings, and then click on Payment Settings in order to set up how you would like to be paid from Zazzle. 

You will see a tab which reads Associates. Click that tab and on the top of that page is your Associate ID. It is an 18 digit number in bold. This number MUST BE appended to any link you put on a website or send in email. The best way to make sure the number is appended is to view the image above.   I have circled the linking area in blue.  NOTE:  You must be logged into your Zazzle account in order for the system to append the correct affiliate ID number on the links.

Now click on a product in the Color Splash store.  Find the linking area.  Notice in that area there are automatic buttons for places such as Facebook and Twitter and other networking sites you may participate in.  For other links such as for your website and/or email, click the LINK word I have underlined in blue.

Click that LINK text and it will pull up a page as shown to the right.  Various options are presented.  You have code made available for you to send in email, code for simple text links, and code for placing the image of the product on your website or blog.  All of these codes have your affiliate ID attached.  Just put them where you want them, and you're all set!

It's that simple to earn money by selling our photos on cards and gifts.  You don't have to handle merchandise or ordering or payment processing...just simply pick your favorite products you'd like to recommend and using the method above, grab your link code.  --Jai

Continuing on with the wildlife series, this is Snow Leopard II, one of three Snow Leopard color splash photos.  Be sure to visit the blog main page to see other animals in this series.  Get your Snow Leopard II fine art prints on paper and canvas here, and get your Snow Leopard II cards and gifts here.  Remember, fill out the form to be entered to win a free 5x7" greeting card, suitable for mailing or framing!  --Jai

This was our all time favorite big cat we spotted on our little trip.  He was all over the place, and posed beautifully!  I was quite surprised that he is so graceful.  The other big cats didn't seem to be as graceful as this fella.  He glided across the ground, and jumped with ease to higher locations. I really enjoyed just watching him. We got so many good photos of this guy, I'll be putting out a series of three Snow Leopard photos. This is the first in the series.  Keep watching the blog for the others to be posted.  In the meantime, you can acquire your fine art Snow Leopard prints on paper and canvas here and get your Snow Leopard cards and gifts here. --Jai P.S.  Don't forget to register on our website...we give away one free 5x7" card (suitable for mailing or framing and matting) a month!

The Lioness is the first Color Splash photo in our wildlife series. Yep, we took a safari trip to the zoo yesterday and managed to photograph several wild animals.  The big cats are my favorite! This female lion, however, just wanted to sleep.  On the second visit back to her area, I finally captured a photo of her awake.  It's amazing how much they're like my domestic cats...or I guess I should say, my domestic cats are like the big wild cats.  Sleep all day, probably awake all night. :)

Keep watching my blog here for the rest of the series.  Also, don't forget to register to win a FREE GIFT.

You can purchase The Lioness fine art prints here.  And the Lioness merchandise is available here.  Perfect for those who love wildlife as much as I do!

--Jai

l  I knew before I photographed this cluster of Lilac flowers, turning it into a color splash image was going to be a challenge. I sat on the idea for a few weeks, pondering bringing out the entire cluster of flowers and whether I should bring out the color in the leaves.  By the time I did all of that, however, I might as well leave it alone as a full color photo. :)  So I studied the photo closer, and realized I kept seeing a "cluster" of flowers, yet looking closer, it was evident each flower was an individual, beautiful, tiny bloom.  And the blooms had delicate yellow centers.  I decided to bring out the darkest, richest blossoms in full color, as well as the yellow centers.  Now the viewer can focus on individual, unique blooms, rather than just the entire group.

This photo reminds me of when I was younger. I wanted to be a part of different groups, yet I wanted to remain true to my individual self.  And it's difficult when in a group, as society tends to view groups as a whole, and not see the individuals within the group for who they each are as a person.  Everyone's different and unique.  Even if they're a part of a certain group, each person has their own unique personality, physical attributes, talents, and spirit.  I hope this photo will remind others of that, and encourage people to stay true to themselves, even if they are a part of a group.

Get your Lilac Flowers fine art prints here.  And you can choose Lilac flower cards, invitations, and other gifts here.

--Jai