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Justan Elk Artworks

Artist’s Statement & Biography

Digital stitching is a technique that enables me to create images that are similar to how we naturally perceive our surroundings. My larger works may occupy the viewer’s entire field of view. I employ digital stitching technique with a goal of interpreting a scene rather than documentation.

My work portrays beauty and a sense of serenity. Many ask if my works are paintings. I have a goal of carrying the viewer away and sparking their imagination and emotions. Some laugh, some cry, some say the work gives them goose bumps and have even shown them to me! Tens of thousands of viewers have told me they love my works.

Each of my works may consist of anywhere between 4 and 30 images that are digitally stitched. Once I’ve captured a scene, I typically invest between about 50 hours and up to several hundred hours, to create a finished work that is an idealized creation.

My works are hand crafted and I control all elements. I perform my own printing using inks the manufacturer states are stable for up to 200 years, and I use the highest quality tools and materials, plus state of the art techniques to produce art works on cotton rag fine art paper and hand coated canvas.

My canvas works are sealed on the front by a special washable coating and sealed on the back to a rigid substrate with acid free glue. Both coatings are water proof and PH balanced. Because I use these materials, the viewer is not required to put the work behind glass or acrylic to protect it, and the full color and beauty of the work is not obscured by the reflections that glass produces.

My works are signed and numbered, and because I sell mostly at shows, all works are effectively limited editions. I make custom sized works on request.

Biography

I earned two bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Arts from Portland State University and have been both a fan of education plus a student of photography over much of my life. I started a serious study of photography back in the early 1970s and continued my formal photography related education through seven years of course work. Part of that time was spent as a full time college student. I ended up spending 10 years at institutions of higher learning and since then have pursued ongoing education.

After i completed graduate school, I started a company named TSL Systems Consulting in Seattle, and have provided computer and network technology support for businesses over 25 years. A few short years ago a combination of events encouraged me to return to photography, an area I always loved. Just a few years back, my first cousin and significant influence Keith Lebenzon, who made a career for himself as an artist, passed on rather suddenly. It was at his funeral that I decided to make the effort to show (and sell) my photographic works. I received encouragement from several friends and decided to grasp the opportunity. Since then I've spent countless hours over several years teaching myself about current photography related techniques and technologies, including digital stitching and the never ending learning that goes into Photoshop and other similar applications. In addition to this, i've become a student of the very old techniques of picture matting and picture frame making. I always enjoy studying the works of other artists and learn from them.

The beauty of photography as a technical challenge is that I continue to learn and the process is both fun and very challenging. When you see the work you will find that the results are pretty darned good!

Contact me

Tracy Lebenzon
(a.k.a. Justan Elk)
7043 14th Ave. Southwest
Seattle, Washington 98106
Phone: 206-763-8874
Email:  Justan@Justan-Elk.com