Layered Photography

If you are into arts or crafts you may be familiar with collages.  Layering various materials to achieve what ever idea you have in mind.

Many think of art as creative expression.  A way that some can “work through” various issues they have emotionally.  I’m sure some do.  I never thought of art as a way to express myself.  If I did I’m sure I would create much more and very different art than I usually do.

I just love collages.  I enjoy seeing others ideas and hoping something touches me.  Personally I create any art with beauty in mind be it visual, music, dance, etc.  Some modern art is downright ugly and offensive.  I don’t care if it is someone’s expression, if it’s ugly I don’t want to see it.

Some things can be a mess to some and I might like it.  Then there could be another mess that actually looks like a mess to me but someone else gets it.

I have always been enamored with the Old Masters.  They were perfection.  They had talent and went for realism.  Then came the sloppier impressionists.  They helped bring about what I call “crap on canvas.”

Speaking of which, I do love my collages.  The ones from altered books, pages, pictures, paints, papers, lace & anything else you can glue on.

This was one I layered from various photos to look hand made.  Usually when I create layered photos I have a different technique, similar to the one below which might be various flowers with complementary colors layered on an enhancing background.

 

A Little of This & That

I am either closing up shop for a while or making some changes on the site for sure.

mug & bell some secret Santa left outside my apartment with candy at Christmas.

I’m working on various craft projects right now because I’m still downsizing, discarding and donating and came across supplies purchased years ago for whenever.  I’m not even sure why I purchased them at the time.

I found a small plastic globe this year at the dollar store and created a light by decoupaging some pressed flowers on it and inserting a light for another dollar.  Very lightweight and cute.

I had various wooden plaques and frames I’ve never used, found some plaster of Paris angels and cupids I was going to adhere to furniture at one time but changed my mind so I painted and decoupaged some of it.  This is the first time in a long time I have even felt like doing much of anything.

I painted 2 5 x 7 baseboards, 2 wooden plaques approximately 4 x 6 and a wooden cross with a gold based paint.  I purchased it many years ago and you can’t get this quality in hobby paints anymore.  You can get the wood pieces at various craft and hobby stores.  Not sure if the dollar store carries anything like this but you can always check.  I used some tissue paper to decoupage on each piece.

If you like to do various decoupage or paper art, it’s nice to shop various specialty gift shops for unique tissue designs such as the paper I used.  Most stores and Hallmark shops don’t carry very interesting patterns as a rule but always check when you shop.

Not sure what my original plans were for these plaster figurines, but I decided to paint them all gold as well to use in my projects. I had seen a unique furniture piece years ago with cupid figures and decoupage, but since I don’t have a piece of furniture in mind to use them on, I created these out of the pure boredom of being snowed and frozen inside for now. -45 wind chill and almost a foot of snow within a week. Yikes, then supposed to go up to 50 above in a couple of days. Madness!

I adhered a couple of the cupids on solid gold plaques and two others on the decoupaged plaques I planned on adhering on the tissue covered backing boards for contrast.  The tissue does have flecks of gold throughout making it a great choice.  I then adhered the larger angel which was a broken Christmas ornament that I had kept when the hanger at the head broke off.

Basically finished. Just not sure what I’m doing with them. The set of three can be used on a mantle or wall art in a grouping. The cross went on a painted plaque and the cupids on backer boards were just slid into matching painted frames.


So if I do continue blogging I will be changing the format and style depending on if I move and what I end up doing.  I will continue ONLY if I have something worth blogging about. Something creative, tips, ideas, something that is not just a time waster for all involved.
Thank you for following my blog all these years. God bless.

Graphic Art Techniques & Attempts

Created using Microsoft PhotoDraw text and animation effects.

I have not done much in the way of fine arts in the last 20 years or more.  I am sadly out of practice.  Ever since I began taking more photographs and purchased my first Graphics Software, Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 version 2, I have gotten very lazy.  I have given up on the idea of spending many hours concentrating with pastel or paintbrush when I can receive the same results in a few minutes with my original photographs, a computer and decent software.  In fact I can do much more with less effort.  I am so spoiled that I thank God this was NOT around during the time of Rembrandt & Leonardo Da Vinci or we would have missed out on so many great works.  I do think that Da Vinci would have come up with  better software ideas than all of them!

I have really enjoyed the years I just experimented and piddled in all kinds of mediums just for the heck of it.  I posted the “Fish Curtain” I did with transfers and free hand painting on a muslin panel last year.

Please view the video I created presenting a few computer graphics followed by brief instructions for each.  If you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments.

 

Daily Prompt: Stumpy Blossoms

I’m here to share a design secret of a semi-professional artist!

The following is what I did to a watercolor/acrylic piece I made quite by accident a few years ago.

I created it when I was “doodling” absent-mindedly while interrupted with a phone call from my actual art work and I grabbed a silk flower blossom that had come loose days before, stuck it in some pink acrylic paint that had been thinned with acrylic gloss medium.  I began randomly stamping a small piece of water color paper.  Looking over what I had done later, I got the idea to turn them into a field of flowers by turning the picture upside down and holding a good size wash brush soaked with various colors of metallic water color paint and letting it run down naturally, missing the dried pink flowers due to the protection of the acrylic glaze in the paint.  It created stumpy looking leaves and stems in this field of true “wild” flowers.

I then scanned it so I could play with it some more.  Please see further details on each picture.  I became bored of studying fine arts many years ago thanks to digital photography and computer software.  I’m not going to say that it made me lazy but it’s sometimes nice just to scan or take pictures of your art and further enhance it for print work for various effects.  Hope this inspires you!  God bless!

The original scanned watercolor.
The original scanned watercolor.
Placed a "watercolor" effect with Microsoft Photodraw which enhanced everything.
Placed a “watercolor” effect with Microsoft Photodraw which enhanced everything.
Increased the color saturation to +50 really making the colors "pop" I think the kids call it.
Increased the color saturation to +50 really making the colors “pop” I think the kids call it.

Daily Prompt: So Paint Already!

Fear of failure?

Fear of Success?

Lazy?  Probably.  I always was one of those people that waited til the last minute to kick something out.  I was one of those kids that sat up all night before a report was due before I buckled down.  I admit to feeling very stifled living in this thin walled apartment.  I am easily distracted and if it’s too noisy, that’s my excust not to try.  It’s hard to turn out anything decent if your heart’s not in it and sadly I have lost my passion.

I began to feel this way after I got computer software that creates similar results with a push of a few buttons instead of hours with various art mediums.  Only fooled around the last few years experimenting and doing some collages but have not done anything Gallery or Show worthy.  Used to love oil painting but gave it up due to the turps and then tried the so called oils you can mix with water.  Better than acrylic, which I don’t care for in fine art painting, but still not the same.  I have never studied watercolor with anyone and I will do that soon for the heck of it.  I understand the basics of watercolor from taking it while still in high school but I will see if I can find an artist in the area who gives lessons if I like their style.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Harmony

Enjoy the harmony of designs from one single blossom and my computer software.  Microsoft PhotoDraw and Ulead PhotoImpact 5.

Original image from my yard
Original image from my yard
computerenhancementalliumclrdpnclbright3
Colored pencil with various color formatting then layered four on a black page to begin my images.
More computer enhancement to come in future posts with more detail.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Still Blurry

As stated in my previous post, the last number of years have all been a blur.

I have never been so disorganized and out of touch and this is such a bad time to be this way.  I am now in the process of cleaning everything out and packing as I go along, expecting to be moving before the end of the year.  Certainly before winter sets in again.

I wanted to share some of the projects I have been working on sporadically since sometime last year as well as other odds and ends.  This blog may be a blur as well.


I have been working on multiple projects on canvas with various mediums, sewing with fabrics, actually made some bead jewelry with supplies purchased years ago and tried my hand with polymer clay.

 

Click on thumbnails for full size.

The following are various sewing projects.

1980’s silk pants being upcycled to scarf. Love the images on them!


Very pleased with my second attempt at polymer clay jewelry! This was after I burnt a batch in an old toaster oven with messed up thermostat.


A couple of craft type projects.

Not going to miss the frost on my windows, no matter how beautiful it is.
Not going to miss frost on my windows, no matter how beautiful it is.

I’m going to end this blur of a post with a question.

What color is this dress?

My mother made this back in the 1960's.
My mother made this back in the 1960’s.