Continuing On....Day 226-227-228

It seems that distractions tend to get in the way of me posting to this blog, but I am determined to finish the 365 days, even if it takes me 5 years.  :-)  I have been doing a lot more watercolor painting because this is the busiest time of year.  There are at least 5 shows I would like to enter, including the lifetime 2-star membership, of which I recently was awarded.  Photography plays a major role in my painting, as I use my photos to paint from.  They are my inspiration and so I will share the most recent photos I took that have influenced my art.

A wagon wheel that I had not noticed was made of metal instead of wood....original photo followed by a digital enhanced imaged and finally the finished watercolor painting that was juried into the UWS Spring Show-2015 and is now on its year long exhibition journey.

 

 

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Day 204 & 205

 This first photo is of a tree that appeared to have Japanese Lanterns hanging all over it.  They were probably seed pods, but my DH spotted this and asked me to take a photo of it.  We were both in awe.









This second photo is of our plum tree when it was in bloom. The grandkids were all eating the ripe plums this past weekend and I was surprised that they actually liked them. 

Day 203

Yummy! Delicious! Fresh Popped!

Day 150

I love older Victorian homes and this one was found in "Deadwood" on a recent road trip up to South Dakota.  I changed it to a black and white because I wasn't crazy with the colors it was painted.  Very drab and dark.  I don't remember the specifics either, but I think it may have been the mayors mansion at one time or another.

Day 115

This was a mixed media piece I did two years ago, using acrylic paints and a method that required the whole piece to be covered in Sumi Ink.  I shared the process over on my Art Studio blog, but you will need to search the archives because that blog has tons of mixed media posts.
I used a stencil that is part of the Yudu Stencil painting machine that allows you to burn your own screens.  It was a great investment for me at the time, since I love creating my own artwork with stencils.  (You'll also find a bunch of stencil techniques on my Art Studio blog as a fairly recent posting).
Anyway, I ran this through one of my apps as well and softened the colors, added a bit of texture that looks like more of a tissue overlay.  This is more of a summer version and I just love how it feels so soft and lazy.  I will eventually be using my own photos of the remarkable koi I took while in Las Vegas for one of my watercolor paintings.  I have so many ideas for future works. 
Mixing media is another passion of mine, one that I hope to indulge in everyday this year.  Whether I am watching a workshop DVD, reading a How-To book, or physically out taking photos for future paintings, it's all coming together for me this year.  An accumulation of 40+ years of knowledge and I'm still finding new things to explore. 
I'm contemplating offering some all-inclusive: "mixed media artist retreats", in the near future.  I'll offer more information, as the details get worked out. 

Day 81

Self Portrait is the theme over at PixelDust this week.  I did share earlier some other avatars, but this one is definitely my alter-ego avatar.  She is originally a canvas piece that was covered in Asian script.  A foam wig head was cut in half and applied.  Several layers of stamping, drawing, inking, etc. were done to create the patina collage.  The bulbs on her head are the ideas that are constantly floating around in my head.  While these are not light bulbs, but Christmas ornaments, they created the illusion of light bulbs for this piece.  Of course the glasses completed my look.  So this is me, or I should say, my altered me.  Frozen in time.  You may have seen her before since I use her as my on-line presence.  She's my avatar on Facebook, Pinterest, ning groups, galleries, anywhere that an avatar can be used.  Heaven forbid I would ever have to or want to change her.  Would take me all day! 

Week 12-Day 77

Being a people watcher, I noticed there were plenty of tourists hanging around Las Vegas, but they weren't at the tables or playing the slot machines.  They were enjoying the free outdoor shows, the free Flamingo Habitat, the free indoor shows at the hotel bars, a few (OK more like a lot of people) were enjoying drinks at the Margaritaville Bar and souvenir shopping.  Everywhere you looked, there were people carrying bags from the local shops.  I'm not sure if this is really the largest souvenir shop in Las Vegas anymore, but this sign has been around forever and since the word for this week is: Signage, it is appropriate. 
I did grab a great photo of the Margaritaville Bar sign too, but I plan to use it in a future painting, so I won't share it just yet.  

Day 71-72

I know I am way ahead of myself, but that's because I will be away from my computer for a few days and when I get back to it, I will be caught up instead of way behind.  I hope to have some more interesting images to share with you then.
While I was at the Farmers Market this past Sunday, it was softly raining.  I find it interesting that people in general, tend to either love the feeling of the atmosphere when it rains or they don't.  This day I was enjoying it to the fullest.   It was the very first time I actually took photos while walking in the rain and  I had specifically planned on shooting images while it rained so I came prepared with very large umbrellas.  I didn't want my camera lens to have water droplets on it, but I did want shots of the water droplets.  Dilemma solved.  I asked my DH not to turn on the windshield wipers until I grabbed a few shots first.  So, sitting inside the car I got the best shots of the day.  By using various settings on the camera I was able to get these two awesome images. 
I love both of them and have no favorite here.  The first one is so soft and the fog so gentle.  The droplets barely visible on the glass.  The second is so distorted the whole of it is lost except the basic shape of the tree.  I have to admit, it was fun playing in the rain.  I had a wonderful time experimenting with settings and posing my DH in some of my shots.  (I'll share one or two of these images, at a another time.) 
PS-These images are straight from the camera, no apps or other alterations were made.

Day 70

In one of my apps for the Kindle Fire, I was able to download several interesting shapes, such as this crystal ball shape.  There are TV screens, Iphone screens, snow globes, magnifying glass, etc.  I used my own photo of the trees (posted below) as the reflected image.  Looks very abstract since it no longer looks like trees.  Now it looks more like scratches and strong diagonal lines. 
The app is called: Pip Camera and it is available in the Amazon App Store for Free this week.  If you don't have a Kindle, but you do have an iphone or ipod, explore:  Picsart from itunes.  Have fun! 

Week 11 -Day 69

For the "52 Word Group" challenge that I am hosting over at iphoneart, the word this week is: "Circular".  What a word.  What fabulous ideas are running through my head when I hear it.  Circles are one of my many personal symbols and I love them.  (Circles represent the sun and the moon to me and of course they are personal symbols but maybe we'll get into that later.)
I took this theme in a totally different direction than I originally had planned.  I was shooting this amazing tree for well over a year now and one day in the distant past, I grabbed my fish eye lens as I was running out the door.  (You can get this same effect using your digital software and the elliptical marquee tool.)  It was a bit tricky to accomplish, since I altered the photo in several different ways before it was put back into the frame, but I kind of like the pink sky and sharper image.  Rose Colored Glass anyone?

Day 68

The Photo Art Friday challenge was to create another abstract using Bonnie's textures.  Well, I piled them on!  Here is the list of textures that were used to create the background for this layout: 1. Antique Me, 2. Cobblestone Road, 3. Dropped Petals, 4. Sweet Thoughts, 5. Scratched Lens and 6. Soft Reflections.  I cut and pasted parts of these textures to get the layout covered then I applied a hand-painted and stamped detail from my art studio.  With blending modes, each layer was altered and here is the final design. 
This 2nd image is of the first version using nothing but Bonnie's textures and some brushes.  I'm so glad I kept this because I can see using it again in the future.  A quote would be nice, or maybe just one simple word. 

Day 67

I used this cropped image to make my new FaceBook Cover.  Reversing the colors really made this pop.  Instead of snow on the ground and the bark on the trees, the trees now look like white birches.  This was shot at Wheeler Farms picnic area a few months ago when snow covered everything in sight.  I wasn't wearing my boots or I would have ventured off into this grove of trees for more photos.  Opportunity missed, but I don't think the trees are going anywhere.  I'll be back to capture them year round.  Every season is an opportunity here. 

Day 66

I am ahead of myself this week in my postings, but I don't want to play catch up later.  I altered this image this morning using the word prompt: "Found".  When I saw these shoes in the park this past fall, I knew I just needed to grab a couple of shots to have for a future project.  I started a series of photos over a year ago when I started walking in the park every day.  I was enjoying the fact that I was witnessing new discoveries that others had left behind.  I have quite a collection of photos now but I still enjoy the park.  I've started taking photos of my favorite tree to chronicle it throughout the four seasons.  Another series!
I used a free texture from KimK called: Fall-In.  Kim hosts weekly challenges on her blog like Bonnie at PixelDust, but Kim's challenge is called Tuesday Textures.  I used one of Bonnie's textures in this layout also called: Heartache by the Number.  Can you see all the graffiti on the sidewalk, well most of it is gone now, blending modes will do that, but there's a tad bit left. It's another fabulous free texture.

Day 64-65

Wheeler Historical Farm, summer 2012, I took my oldest grandkids over to the farm to see all the animals and have a photo shoot.  These adorable little piglets (yes, there are 2 of them in the water dish!) were out in the pen, while Momma was hiding in the shed, but keeping a watchful eye on her little ones.

Week 10-Day 63

We have a very unique State Park close to our home.  It is an 1800's working farm called: Wheeler Historical Farm.  It is a place I love to take my grandchildren on photo shoots as there are so many animals available in one place, it's almost like visiting a petting zoo.   Last year while visiting the park, I noticed these tennis shoes hanging from the power line over the roadway. 
Yesterday, hubby and I went to visit the Farmer's Market that they hold every first Sunday of the month and I discovered that had I not taken this photo the year before, I would have missed the opportunity, as these shoes were no longer hanging from the power line. 
How many times have we missed these opportunities to record things of interest.  With the digital technology, there isn't a reason not take the photo ever again.  Take them all and sort them out later or "Shoot and then ask questions!"
I hadn't noticed that these shoes were fairly worn out, loved to the point of having holes in the treads.  But once I started working with this image, I was able to pull out more details. 
I used "Picsart" app on my Kindle Fire to alter this image.  I found a lot more options with this app including layering multiple images and blending modes.   So, the moral is:  It pays to take the time to play, learn and take advantage of those photo opportunities. 

Day 61-62

The days and weeks are flying by so fast and it's Photo Art Friday again!   I enjoy Bonnies weekly challenges that she posts over on her blog.  Her challenge this week is Vintage. I love working with the old black and white  images from days gone by.  Usually one of the hundreds of cabinet cards in my collections or the 50's Polaroids that my own family took.  The people depicted are/were real, live people struggling through some difficult times, or living the good life, depending on who they were.  They are beautiful in and of themselves, but I still like to play around with the images by adding some color, textures and in this case, some amazing shadows.   Here is my favorite: A chroma negative effect of the same image.

You can also scroll down for yet a totally different look of a mid 30's farm bureau black and white photo from the Library of Congress archives below.  That was created via many saved altered layers so that I could keep the writing visible in the placards they are holding. 

Day 59

I found this image recently.  It's from the Library of Congress-(public domain).  It is from the mid 1930's when half the country was unemployed.  These young adults were suppose to be on strike and this was probably a propaganda image for the times since this photo would have cost them their jobs.  What struck me was the wages.  17 cents an hour.  I started working when I was 15 back in the late 60's and I was paid $2.35 an hour.  Took 30 years to raise the wages $2.18.  That averages out to approximately 7 cents per year!  It's been another 40+ years (at about .12 cents per year) and what are the wages like today?
World-Wide Poverty for the masses.
I usually don't get on the soap box, but heck why not stir the pot occasionally.  :-D

Week 9 & Day 56

The word for the 52 week challenge is: "Uncluttered" which can mean so many things, but I decided to use this photo which focuses on just one object.  A seedpod that I found a few years ago hanging from a tree at Liberty Park.  We used to call these "Helicopters" because they would swirl around and around as they fell to the ground.  Messy when you have to clean them up from your flower garden!  Here is a before and after photo.  I believe I used one of the chalk filters and a photo of concrete for the texture. 

Day 50

 Over at my Art Studio blog, I shared 5 amazing Quick and Easy Stencil Techniques, using some supplies that anyone who has a well stocked art studio would probably have around.  LOL!  Glue sticks, (cheap) rubbing alcohol, dye inkpads, polyfill, glossy photo paper and black gesso to name a few.  Here are a few photos of Technique #5 that is posted at my ArtStudio
My friend Cecilia has a new line of stencils now available at: Stencilgirl   I noticed several other artists also have featured designs available.  I hope you will check them out!    

Week 8-Day 49

Winter is the word prompt for this week.  While we were driving through Provo the other day, we ventured to take the back roads to see what we could find of interest.  The farmers sprinkler system looked amazing sitting there in a barren field of snow and the photo itself, looked like an artist had drawn it to scale.  I thought the quote was appropriate since I was using a camera, my measuring tool of the day.  I combined the original image with several photo masks and grungy borders to give the almost white photo some interest besides the focal element.