Here are some little pumpkins for October 31! This image began with a photo I took a few weeks ago, outside a local grocery store where there was a display of miniature pumpkins. I liked the patterns and the color, so I took a picture. Last night I cropped this composition out of the original photograph, then used Painter to clean up a few of the pumpkins, and then I posterized the image.
October is almost over, but there is still time for one more photograph of autumn leaves. This is a photograph that I took yesterday during a mid-afternoon walk at the Cummings Center Pond, here in Beverly, MA. I really wasn't planning to take a photograph, but the color of this tree was a showstopper!
Here is one more photo that I took last weekend at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. This wooded area near the side of the road was backlit by the afternoon sun, creating a golden glow through the trees. Tonight I cropped this image out of the original photo. On the computer screen, I could see one or two areas with silver-gray tones between the trees, maybe glimpses of a parked car. So I opened the image in Painter and used a little color overlay on those small areas, matching the color to the yellow glow of the trees.
This is a another photograph that I took on Sunday afternoon during a walk at Long Hill Gardens. These are fruit trees that line the road into the property, and they are beautiful at every season. Right now they are glowing with color: soft apricot, orange, and gold. The colors have been beautiful this week. No doubt the colors will soon be gone. (It is raining right now, and the wind is already blowing some of the leaves off of the trees. ) Well, that's just time passing, and not a reason to be sad. But it is a reason to look at the autumn leaves while we can.
This weekend, I finally had a chance to take a walk at Long Hill Gardens. The weather was great and the colors were beautiful. I tried to make up for lost time by taking lots of pictures. This is the first picture that I took. In fact, I was still getting my camera out when I saw this walkway covered with yellow leaves. I loved the way the trees in the distance seemed to glow in the sunlight, and I liked the dappled light on the path, so I took a quick photograph. Well, I was a little too quick, apparently, because when I opened the image on the computer, I could see that the focus was too fuzzy. I was trying to hurry, so maybe I moved when I took the picture. Well, I still liked the image so I decided to see what I could do with it. I opened it in Painter and posterized it just enough to create a bit of an impressionistic effect. The idea of posterizing was to turn a soft focus into an advantage. Then I cropped the image to emphasize the dappled light and the golden pathway.
This image began with a photograph that I didn't intend to take. This was during a quick walk in my daughter's neighborhood, just to walk the dog for a block or two. But the color of the leaves on this tree stopped me in my tracks (but had no effect on the dog), so I lagged behind for a minute while I pulled out my digital camera and took a quick picture. Even at the time, I saw that the leaves had been nibbled on a bit, and worse, I couldn't photograph this tree without also photographing a glimpse of someone's backyard in the background. But I loved the colors, so I took the photo anyway. Once I had the image in the computer, I opened it in Painter and did some cropping. Then I used digital pastel to repair some leaves and simplify some background areas (obliterating bits of a fence, a swimming pool, and some windows). Then I posterized the image. (Posterizing enhanced the color just a little bit, but this really isn't far from the original color.) Then I cropped the image one more time to get this composition. Sometimes beauty comes at you when you least expect it, and sometimes it is inconvenient to stop and look. But it is always worth it.
On Friday morning, I worked on my collage and decoupage project, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with pieces of printed metallic ribbon. This is one more view, a close-up of one of the interior surfaces. (To see the entire project, rather than a detail, take a look at my posts for October 23th and 24th.)
Yesterday I went to the studio to work on my collage and decoupage project, a heart-shaped box decorated with printed metallic ribbons. Last night I posted a view of the project that showed both the top and bottom of the box. But I also worked on the interior surfaces yesterday, so here is another view.
This morning I went to the studio to work on this collage and decoupage project. This heart-shaped box once held a Mother's Day gift from my daughter. I am covering it with patterns cut from printed metallic ribbons. One of the areas I worked on today was the bottom of the box, which is going to be primarily brown, with floral areas around the edge. I want the pattern on the bottom of the box to echo the pattern on the top. Today I continued to focus on the middle area, starting by covering up the text describing the product that came inside the box ( perfume, lotion, etc. from Clinique). I also worked on the interior of the box, which I plan to show here tomorrow. . . .
I had to run some errands this morning (bank, gas station, etc.). While I was getting out of the car to go into the bank, I noticed some beautiful mums planted next to a store, directly in front of my parking space. I liked the way the flowers looked in the bright sunlight, so I stopped rushing around for a few minutes and took a couple of pictures. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop this image out of the best photograph. I also used iPhoto to lighten some shadows and eliminate a red cast, bringing these mums back to the golden color that I saw this morning.
Tonight I took a little break and created this digital still life with Painter. I used digital watercolor, and worked from my imagination and did this in half and hour. It was a short little break but I had a lot of fun.
On a recent walk at the Cummings Center Pond, I was admiring the fall colors and taking a lot of photos. Then I realized that I had used up the battery in my digital camera. Rats! Although I was out of battery, I was not out of scenery. But I remembered my blackberry pearl and used my cell phone camera to take a few more photos. This image began with one of those cell phone photos, an attempt at a close view of beautiful golden berries that I almost overlooked as I walked past. As it came out of the camera, the original photo needed a little help with focus and contrast. So I opened the image in Painter and adjusted the contrast. Then I used some digital pastel to clean up a few torn leaves, and posterized the image. The final step was cropping to get this composition. I am glad I was resourceful and remembered to use my cell phone. I almost missed this photo, and I am glad I didn't. In the chaos and rush of daily life, it is easy to miss the little golden moments. But it pays to keep looking. . . .
This image began as a photograph that I took during a recent walk in Beverly, MA. I liked the colors of the leaves, so I took a photograph of this tree. Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition. The resulting image had a soft focus, so I used Painter to posterize it. Now the soft focus is an advantage, creating a little bit of an impressionistic effect.
This is a photograph that I took recently at a grocery store. There was a huge display of these mums, yellow with golden tips, so I took a photograph. I could tell immediately that the camera wasn't really capturing the color, due to the lighting in the store. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop this image out of the original photo, and then adjusted the color just a bit (to compensate for the effect of fluorescent lighting). This adjusted color is more accurate because now it matches the color that I actually saw at the grocery store.
This is a photograph that I took today during a late afternoon walk at the Cummings Center Pond here in Beverly, Massachusetts. It is hard to get used to colder weather, but the beautiful colors are worth it! Tonight I used iPhoto to lighten some shadows and to crop the image. After I uploaded the image to Flickr, I still wanted to tweak the composition, so I used Flickr's Picnic to crop it one more time before posting it to my blogger page.
Today started with an early morning run to Logan Airport for a drop-off, but first, a quick stop for coffee at Starbucks before getting on the highway. The purpose of the stop was caffeine, but it was also fun to see my art on the wall. These mountain landscapes were done with acrylic paint used as water media. My paintings have been on display since the beginning of October, and in fact the show ends tomorrow. When I hung the paintings a few weeks ago, I didn't take any pictures because the cafe was too crowded and I felt too rushed. But today at 6:20 AM, Starbucks was pretty quiet, so I let my coffee cool while I took a few minutes to take some quick pictures of the show.
The overnight temperatures are getting colder, and so we are starting to see some fall color. This photo began during an errand that involved a ride through Salem. (Although Salem is beautiful in October, the traffic gets crazier as Halloween approaches.) I was in the passenger's seat, so when I saw these bright orange leaves, I was able to take a quick picture, even though the car was moving. Tonight I cropped this image out of the original photograph, and then used Painter to posterize it.
This is a photograph that I took during a recent walk at the Cummings Center Pond, here in Beverly, MA. The title is not meant to be poetic (although it could be); this shrub is really called Burning Bush, and it is often used for hedges. It turns a very intense color in the fall, almost hot pink. The color in this photo is just as it came out of the camera. All I did was crop the picture to get this composition.
I went to the studio this morning to work on this project, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with decoupage and collage patterns made from printed metallic ribbon. Most of the work today was done on the inside of the top of the box, shown in the photo. I am using one ribbon pattern, but it is very complex, with pink, orange, fuschia, and purple worked into it. But it reads as pink. I did a little work on the bottom surface of the box, too. I am decorating it with floral decoupage around the edges, and you can see some of the little floral areas in this picture. I also made a little progress on the red area in the interior of the box (not visible in this photo). I worked for a little over an hour, and I wanted to keep going, but I had to stop.
Here in Beverly, MA, we are starting to get some fall color. This image began with a photo that I took yesterday during a lunchtime walk at the Cummings Center Pond. Tonight I cropped the original photo, and then cropped again, to get this composition. Once I had cropped the image, I could some some distracting marks, so I opened the image in Painter, did a little clearnup with digital pastel, posterized the image, and added a color overlay to the sky.
This is a photograph that I took this morning during a quick trip to the grocery store. Life has been busy, and I was in a hurry. But as I walked across the parking lot, I noticed beautiful mums on display outside, so I stopped to take a couple of pictures. Tonight I adjusted the contrast, and then cropped the image to get this composition. The more hectic life gets, the more I need little moments like this.
This image began with a photograph that I took today during an afternoon walk at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly. There is always something to see at Long Hill, and right now, it's the berries! (There are only a few flowers still blooming and most of the leaves are still green.) I noticed this shrub with bunches of bright red berries against leaves that were beginning to change color, so I took a picture. Tonight I transferred the image to the computer. The color and the composition were just what I wanted, right out of the camera. But on the screen I could see that a few of the leaves had been chewed on by insects with no respect for photography. So I opened the photo in Painter and used some digital pastel to patch some holes. I had to draw in some bits of missing leaves. Then I posterized the image, and here it is. I didn't know what kind of shrub this is, but I used Google images to find a match. The Latin name is Vibernum lantana, also known as Wayfaring Tree, which is the name I prefer.
This image began with a photo of a quince tree that I took last October at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly, MA. I was excited to the sunlight on the golden fruit, so I took a picture. But later I saw that the focus was too soft, and so I didn't use the photograph. I came across the photo again tonight when I was poking through my files, and decided to do something with it. I cropped the original photo to get this composition, then opened the image in Painter and posterized it. (I did some selective posterizing with the lariat tool so I could keep the brightness of the sky intact.) The posterizing capitalizes on the soft focus and diffuse light, and I think it conveys a bit of the magic of suddenly coming across a tree hung with golden fruit.
This is a close-up of my collage and decoupage project as it looked yesterday. Yesterday I turned the heart-shaped box upside-down, and worked on the bottom surface. This detail is one of the floral areas that I am creating around the edge. I am using pieces of patterned metallic ribbon, and pasting pieces of printed roses, leaves, and forget-me-nots to create decoupage.
This morning I went to the studio, intending to work for an hour on this project. I am covering a heart-shaped box with decoupage and collage created from printed metallic ribbons. This box once held a Mother's Day gift from my daughter. (Some of the text describing the product inside is still visible in this photo.) I set out with the intention of putting in a little work on three surfaces of the box that need work. I decided to start with the bottom of the box which is going to have decoupage flowers around the edges. I am arranging pieces of roses and leaves cut from the ribbons to make little floral areas. I also worked on the area in the middle, which will be predominantly brown, to match the top of the box. I got so involved and was having so much fun with the decoupage that I kept going, and never got to the other parts of the project today, even though I stayed for an extra thirty minutes. I really had to force myself to stop. I felt myself trying to hurry, and that is when I am likely to make mistakes.
It's October, and pumpkins are turning up everywhere. This image began with a photograph that I took yesterday during a quick trip to Trader Joe's Grocery. Tonight I did a little digital clean-up of the pumpkins in iPhoto. Then I opened the image in Painter to posterize it. The last step was to crop the photo to get this composition. Now these pumpkins are ready for fall holidays!
This image began as a photo that I took today while I was at Trader Joe's (a grocery store). I love grocery stores, and not just for the food; you can find visual treats too, if you look for them, and I do! There were fall flowers on display at the front of the store, so I stopped to take some pictures. I liked the colors and patterns of these little flowers. They look like primroses, but they are mums. (The sign said "mum fleurettes", to be exact.) Tonight I cropped the photo to get this composition. I also used Painter to posterize it and to add some color overlay to soften the highlights in the cellophane.
Last week, during a walk at Long Hill, I was looking at the grape arbor. The leaves were so graceful as they wound around the structure of the arbor, so I took some pictures. Tonight I cropped this image out of one of the original photographs and used Painter to posterize it.
About a month ago (September 2), I posted images of white flowers that I thought were hydrangea. Well, I was right; they have been changing colors, as you can see in this photo that I took of the same flowers just the other day. Some of the hydrangea around here turn blue, but these have now turned to a beautiful dusty pink. They are so beautiful that I took a quick photo while I was on a walk in the neighborhood. This is the photo just as it came out of the camera. We have had a few cold nights, so it is good to enjoy the flowers while they last.
