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Leslie D. Bartlett has unearthed a niche for himself as a natural-stone photographer. The former graphic designer/web designer/juggler/landscape photographer now specializes in producing painting-like photographs of the natural stone formations deep in the historic quarries near Cape Ann in Massachusetts. Using the natural light reflecting off the Atlantic Ocean, Bartlett captures the richly textured stone motifs forged by extreme weather, salt air, and the colors bleeding out from the oxidizing granite.
There are two key advantages of printing exhibition images on LexJet’s Water-Resistant Satin Cloth. First, if you must print and hang a large number of images (such as the 40 images featured in Leslie Bartlett’s Cape Ann Museum display shown above), it is more economical than framing the images behind glass. Then the artwork can be easily transported from one gallery to another.
He then prints these images onto LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth using either an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 or 9880 printer along with Nik Software’s Photoshop plug-ins and the ImagePrint RIP.
The prints are so dimensional and detailed that many viewers feel as if they can almost reach out and touch the textured surface of the rocks.
Bartlett has used the satin cloth not only to save time and money in creating and hanging exhibition prints, but also to adapt his art to create free-standing and window-hung privacy screens.
Wall Art: Bartlett recently wrapped up a month-long exhibition of 24 of his images at the Soho/Photo Gallery in New York and is currently preparing for a larger exhibition at the Vermont State Capitol this summer.
Both of these opportunities resulted from the critical acclaim he received for the four-month, 40-image solo exhibition he presented at the Cape Ann Museum at Gloucester, Mass.
The power of his imagery comes partly from Bartlett’s willingness to watch and wait for that perfect gleam of light to illuminate the surfaces of the rocks. He visits some sites repeatedly to observe how the exposed surfaces of the stone warm and cool as the light shifts and the seasons change.
Images printed on Water-Resistant Satin Cloth are also more versatile in how they can be hung. Although the Soho exhibit space shown here wasn’t nearly as spacious as the Cape Ann Museum gallery, Bartlett easily hung a number of images, including this 40 in. x 13 ft. panoramic print that he hung like a banner.
Then, he meticulously edits each image to replicate the light, color, and details exactly as he saw them. For example, he uses the Nik Sharpener Pro plug-in to Photoshop to adjust how the large prints will appear from a viewing distance of 20 to 25 feet—the same distance from which he photographed the rockscapes. For some prints, he has used Nik SilverEfex Pro to replicate early American landscape photographers like Carlton Watkins.
When Bartlett first began specializing in natural stone photography six years ago, he printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper and framed the images behind glass. But framing quickly became impractical after he started shooting vertical panoramas and making prints that were 40 x 60 in. and larger. He likes to print big because he wants viewers to experience the rockscapes in way that’s true to life. Displaying the images behind framing glass distracted from the dimensionality of the prints and distorted the sharpening.
Printing on LexJet’s Water-Resistant Satin Cloth has proven to be so effective that Bartlett says, “I will never exhibit these images under glass again.”
The inkjet-receptive material not only produces the rich detail he wants, but is easy to transport and install and eliminates the insurance and liability costs associated with shipping framed prints. When he showed a 40 x 60 print on Water-Resistant Satin Cloth at an area art fair, he amazed booth visitors by taking the print down from the wall, crumpling it up in a ball, throwing it onto the floor, and then rehanging it.
In addition to creating freestanding privacy screens for indoor or outdoor use, Bartlett has produced a series of window-hung screens that disguise a dreary, unsightly view in the winter. The screens are removed in the summer when the patio garden is in full bloom.
As he was preparing the 40 images for the exhibit at the Cape Ann Museum, Bartlett first considered using the posterhanger system typically used to hang textile prints in museums and galleries. But because he planned to hang so many prints, he devised a solution that ended up costing thousands of dollars less. Instead of spending $30 to $60 for each pair or posterhanger rods, he found some Wiremold plastic tubing at the local hardware store.
Designed to conceal electrical wires, the tubing cost $3.00 for a 5-ft. section. So, instead of spending more than $3,500 for hangers, his total cost to hang the 40 prints was around $300. Even if he had to spend time cutting the sections down to size, the solution was inexpensive, easy, and elegant.
Privacy Screens: Once he discovered his niche as a photographer, Bartlett started thinking about other forms in which his images could be sold. So, now he is using LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth to develop the byobu line of folding screens and indoor/outdoor privacy screens. The tiled format of the light and airy folding screens is the perfect match for his stonescape images.
One of his privacy-screen products is designed to be used outdoors. When he took the screen down to the beach for a marketing shoot, he placed it in the water and shot it. Then, the screen tipped over into the surf and was soaked with salt water. He took it home, rinsed it off with a garden hose and left it standing outdoors exposed to the elements for two months. The colors remained totally colorfast.
You can read more details about Leslie D. Bartlett’s work in the post entitled Rock Solid Art Printed on Lightweight Satin Cloth on the Studio LexJet blog.