Thursday, August 31, 2017

Lilies and Petunias


Here's another photo that I took during our recent after-dinner run to the Cherry Hill Creamery.  There was a long line to order ice cream, so I took some pictures.  Today I created a version of this image with a Prisma filter, and I plan to post it here tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Petunias (with Prisma filter)


On a recent trip to Cherry Hill Creamery (near Beverly, MA), we were standing in a long line to buy ice cream.  To kill time, I took pictures of some bright pink petunias.  Today I cropped the original image to get this composition, and then added a Prisma filter.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Dad in Printer's Apron (Posterized Photo)



Yesterday, to remember my dad on his birthday, I posted a rescued snapshot of him.  It was taken in 1938, when he was about 20 years old, and he was wearing a printer's apron.  Today I am posting another version of the photo, this time with Painter's posterizing effect added.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Dad in Printer's Apron (1938)



This is a rescued family photo of my dad. Today would have been my dad's birthday (August 28, 1918) so I was looking for pictures of him this morning.  I found this image in a collection of old photos given to me by my Aunt Celia shortly after my father died.  This one says "1938" on the back, so he was 20 years old.  I remember him saying that he had a job in a printing company, setting type I think.  I suspect that this photo might have been a "selfie" taken with a button held in his hand.  Why?  I have other photos taken around the same time that also look like self-portraits, and in this image, he is looking down (at the camera perhaps?) instead of at someone taking the picture.  I don't know if I am right, but I do like the idea. (He was a very talented musician,  but I think he liked photography and later liked to take home movies.)  Anyway. The original snapshot had a corner missing, a bit of a crease, and a lot of tiny marks and blemishes, all of which I was able to fix in iPhoto.  I really liked the original composition, so I didn't change much, just cropped it a bit.  I also used Painter to create a posterized version of this image, which I plan to post here tomorrow.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Daydream with Hydrangeas


I started this drawing yesterday, but stopped working on it.  I had already drawn the hydrangea-shaped flowers when I abandoned it because I was unhappy with dark red flowers.  This afternoon, I got out my sharpies and went back to this drawing to see if I could salvage it.  I started by modifying the shapes of the red flowers, and I was happy with the result, so I kept going, adding stems, leaves, and little pink flowers. I am glad I kept going.  I did a bit of digital editing on this just to get rid of some stray marks, but I want to do more digital cleanup on this because I hope to use for greeting cards on Zazzle.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Flowers for Dreamers


I made another drawing today, flowers again, using my Sharpie pens.  It was fun to work from my imagination. I like coming up with different shapes and colors, and somehow they all seem to go together.  In art, as in life, variety and contrast make things better.  As usual, I made some mistakes, and I fixed a few or them with acrylic paint followed by marker. But like the other sketches I have been doing, this one will need a bit of digital cleanup.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Flowers for Friday


This afternoon, I drew another little bouquet with my Sharpie markers, working from my imagination.  So here are some crazy flowers for the end of the week.  I had a lot of fun, but also made some mistakes, so I have already made some corrections on the computer (using Painter).  It has taken me years to worry less about making mistakes and to  pay more attention to what is working well (a good practice in life and in art).   There are more mistakes to fix, and in fact all of these little flower drawings can use some digital clean-up, which I plan to do because I think they might make nice cards on Zazzle.  But in any case, this is a good drawing exercise and I am having fun.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Late Summer Flowers


This afternoon, I got out my Sharpie pens again and did another sketch of flowers, working from my imagination.  I had a lot of fun and I like the result, though it could use a little digital cleanup.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

August Flowers



Sometimes you just need to draw, so I did.  This afternoon, I got out my Sharpies (markers) and started sketching flowers, working from my imagination.  It was a lot of fun and I liked the sketch, so here it is. 

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Edge of Night (from the Archives)


The eclipse yesterday reminded me of this image.  I am not sure when I painted this, perhaps when I was in college during the 1960s, but probably sometime later, when we lived in Lawrence, Kansas.  I don't think I posted this before, but I could be wrong. In any case it would have been years, so I thought I would post this painting today.  This is acrylic paint used with water on watercolor paper.




Monday, August 21, 2017

Trellis and Garden (Digital Woodcut)


Yesterday I posted a photo that I took of a trellis in a neighborhood garden  For today's image, I used the Painter program on my computer to add a woodcut effect to the photo.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Trellis and Garden


This is a photo I took during a recent neighborhood walk.  I liked the way the trellis looked against the lines of the siding, so I took a quick picture. This afternoon I edited the photo a bit.  I also used Painter to create a digital woodcut of this scene, and I plan to post that tomorrow.

Friday, August 18, 2017

Rose with Hy and Mel (Digital Woodcut)



This image is based on a snapshot that my sister-in-law recently sent to husband, showing his mom, dad, and himself as a kid. It was great to have the image, but my sister-in-law said the photo had been double-exposed. I downloaded the image and opened it in Painter to see what I could do with it. There were horizontal bands where the image looked bleached out, as if it had been even photographed through plastic. I started by trying to restore the photo, but there were too many problems to tackle. Instead, I decided to do a more interpretive version. I started with the biggest problem: the right side of father-in-law's face was almost completely washed out, next to no features showing. I did some selective posterizing and added woodcut effect just to increase the definition and tease out more information. Then I used digital air-brush to invent even more definition, trying to mirror the shapes on the other side of his face. Then I used more airbrush and some cut-and-paste to fill in the bleached out areas that ran across the photo in about three bands, over clothing and background. I simplified the background, and then added posterizing and woodcut effects, working with small selections until I got colors and textures that I liked. I think I could do more with a really good scan or image of the original snapshot. But meanwhile, here is a nice little family portrait, and I am posting this today in memory of Rose, my mother-in-law, who was born on August 18th. She never liked to say what year she was born, so I won't either.


Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Construction on the New NY Bridge (with Prisma filter)


My previous post was a photo that I took during our recent road trip.  As we crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge from New Jersey to New York, I noticed that a new bridge was being built, so I took a picture.  Today's post is the same photo, but I used the Prisma app on my iPhone to add the "Mosaic" filter.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Construction on the New NY Bridge


Another photo from our recent road trip.  As we drove over the Tappan Zee Bridge from New Jersey to New York, I noticed construction of a new bridge going up.  This is going to be the New NY Bridge, which is apparently going to replace the Tappan Zee.  Anyway, it reminded me of the Zakim Bridge in Boston. I like the lines and the geometry, so I took a picture.

Sunday, August 13, 2017

On the Tappan Zee Bridge (with Prisma Filter)


The previous post was a photo that I took as we were crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge, traveling home from our road trip.  Here is another version of the photo, this time with one of the filters available on the Prisma app

Saturday, August 12, 2017

On the Tappan Zee Bridge


When we were heading home from our road trip, we took the Tappan Zee Bridge from New Jersey to New York.  I took a picture while we passed through the middle part of the bridge.  I also used the Prisma app on my phone to create a version with a filter, which I will post soon.

Friday, August 11, 2017

City of Brotherly Love (Digital Woodcut)


My previous post was a photo of the Philadelphia skyline, taken during our recent road trip.  This post is the same image, but with Painter's "woodcut" effect added.  So here's another image of the City of Brotherly Love.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

City of Brotherly Love


We drove through Philadelphia on our recent trip. We were stuck in traffic so I had plenty of time to take pictures.  I edited the original version once we got home.  The City of Brotherly Love.  We could all use a little more of that, so I am posting this tonight.

Wednesday, August 09, 2017

Koi Pond (with Prisma filter)


During our recent trip, I saw some beautiful koi fish in our cousins' back yard, in New Jersey.  I took some quick pictures while we were there. Later,  I used the  Prisma app on my iPhone to add a filter, then cropped the result to get this final image.

Tuesday, August 08, 2017

Cut Glass Vase with Dried Flowers (Pastel Still Life)


I drew this pastel still life sometime around 2002 to 2004, when I was part of an informal drawing group here in Beverly, MA.  I may have posted this drawing before, but I am not sure. This drawing has been around.  I think it used to hang in a small apartment we had in Newark, NJ. Then I gave it to my mother-in-law to take to Florida.  But I recently saw it again when we stopped in Cincinnati to visit our niece and grand-niece.  It's always fun to be "reunited" with an old drawing or painting.  I wasn't sure if I had a picture of it, so I took one.  So here is a (very unlikely) souvenir of our road trip. . . .

Monday, August 07, 2017

Tall Grass in New Jersey (With Prisma Filter)


I used the the Prisma app on my iPhone to add the "disco" filter to my photo of tall grasses in New Jersey.  I like the way the filter brought out the pink in the flowers and made the blossoms stand out.  I created this digital image today (August 12) but I am using time travel to catch up with my blog posts.

Sunday, August 06, 2017

Tall Grass in New Jersey


I took this picture on August 2nd in Mount Laurel, New Jersey during our recent trip.  We checked into a motel the night before, and in the morning, I wanted to take a walk.  The only option was a stroll around the (large) parking lot but around the edges I found a bit of nature.  I love the tall grasses with bright pink blossoms, so I took a picture.  I also used the Prisma app on my iPhone to create a version with a filter, and that will be my next post.

Saturday, August 05, 2017

Basket of Begonias (with Prisma Filter)


The previous post was a photo of a hanging basket full of orange and yellow begonias that my daughter recently picked out for our yard.  This is the same photo but with a wild and crazy Prisma filter applied.

Friday, August 04, 2017

Basket of Begonias



My daughter recently picked out this hanging basket of begonias for our yard.  I loved the way it looked, so I took this picture.  I also created a version with a filter from my Prisma app, which I hope to post here tomorrow.

Thursday, August 03, 2017

New Bouquet (With Prisma Filter)


My daughter recently picked out some new plants for our yard and deck.  Of course I took pictures. These are petunias and snap dragons.  (The original version of this image was posted on July 31.)  I decided to use my Prisma app to add a filter to this one.

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Bouquet

New flowers chosen by my daughter